Asset Series 6: Through The Looking Glass
by shadowglove
Summary: Sequel to Realizations. After the kiss they shared on the side of the road things are horribly awkward between Dean and Chloe, especially now that Bobby and Sam have joined them. And then, when a stranger intervenes in a very drastic way, Chloe wakes up to time loss, apparent memory loss, war, people she should know but doesn't, Lois, and a very touchy-feelly Dean Winchester.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Supernatural**

Sequel to: Realizations

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She shouldn't have kissed him.

Chloe knew that they had _way_ bigger issues to deal with (like the whole unknown prophecy, _and_ her insane dad chasing after them) and yet she couldn't get her mind off of the kiss she'd shared with Dean. The blonde still couldn't figure what had given her the idiotic courage to do it. Now things were _horribly_ awkward between her and him. The kiss had been nearly a week ago, and yet Dean had _yet_ to get comfortable with her once more. Also, he was no actor, and so it was more than _obvious_ that he was uncomfortable.

Sam (who'd met up with them in Wyoming) eyed them curiously with Bobby (who'd joined them in Nevada) neither hunter asking what was up between the two, but it was obvious in the looks they shared that they knew something was going on.

Dean refused to be alone with Chloe, and if the group had to split up to do things he always volunteered her to go with one of the other men. It gave her the opportunity to get to know Sam and Bobby better, yes, but it was more than obvious what was going on and it hurt the girl.

She should never have given him that damned kiss!

It'd screwed up everything!

And anyway, what had she been expecting anyway when she'd done it? She'd taken Dean's feelings and ran _way_ ahead of everything, kissing him. Just because she was _obviously_ important to Dean didn't mean that it was in that way! She'd let herself get in over her head and did something that had endangered everything they'd built together!

She was so _stupid_!

And they didn't have the time to just sit down and have that awkward conversation they needed to have.

They didn't know who they could trust anymore, the boys having hesitated this whole week before deciding to drive up to where their father was and finally let him in on the little crisis that was going down and see if maybe he had some sort of insight on what the hell was going on with them and this whole death-duel that was looming over their heads.

Chloe sat on the bed in the motel room she stayed in alone, the bag with the few second-hand clothes she'd bought thrown in by her side. She'd sent Clark and Pete a quick message a while back letting them know something was up and she had to disappear, but that she'd be back and she was fine. She'd then done away with the phone since Sam reminded her that she could be traced with it.

The blonde stared ahead of her, nibbling on her bottom lip, not sure how much later she could deal this unease between her and Dean.

She needed to talk to him!

Whether he wanted to or not!

Standing, nodding her head in determination, the blonde grabbed her bag and marched towards the door, flinging it open to see Dean standing there with his hand raised to knock.

The girl's eyes widened.

So did Dean's, before he cleared his throat and moved the hand he'd been about to knock with to run behind his head. "Bobby sent me to tell you that we're leaving in five minutes."

"Oh." Chloe whispered.

Dean stared down at her, something odd happening in his eyes before he shook his head and turned to go away. "Well, we should-."

"We _really_ need to talk." Chloe reached out and grabbed his hand, tightening her grip to keep him from leaving, her head lowered as she closed her eyes tightly. "I'm sorry."

There was a long hesitation, and then Dean cleared his throat. "For what?"

"Kissing you." She pushed the words passed her lips. "I overstepped my boundaries, and clearly made you very uncomfortable, and I'm _sorry_." The blonde cleared her throat when her voice squeaked at the last word. "I just want you to know that you don't have to worry, okay? I didn't expect anything from you so I'm sorry if you thought that. I promise I will _never_ do that again."

Dean was silent.

Chloe let go of his hand. "I just hope things between us can get back to normal and you don't have to keep shoving me off on Bobby and Sam because you're so uncomfortable around me." She walked passed him, slinging on her backpack, forcing a smile on her face when another door opened and Sam and Bobby emerged, the girl sliding up to Sam and looping her arm around his as she pulled the chuckling guy towards the car he'd 'borrowed' from someone somewhere. "So, who gets the first shift driving?"

Sam had been just as melancholic as her due to having to leave Jess behind for only god knew how long, and the two depressed people had gravitated towards each other for platonic comfort. "Me."

"Fine." She made a face, pretending to be upset despite the fact that she'd gotten used to being driven everywhere by Dean. "But the moment you get tired..."

"Yeah yeah yeah." Sam chuckled, pulling his arm loose from her grip to place it around her shoulders and lead her towards the parking lot. "So," Sam leaned in low, his lips nearly touching her ear as he whispered. "Have you two made peace yet?"

The smile slipped from her lips as she turned her face to his, shaking her head.

Sam sighed, leaning his forehead against hers, despite how awkward and uncomfortable it must be for him considering their height difference. "He'll come around eventually, you just got to give him some time and remember he's..._special_...when it comes to emotions."

Chloe closed her eyes, accepting the comfort he offered.

Suddenly Sam jostled forwards, nearly losing his balance. "Hey! Watch it!"

"Sorry." Dean mumbled as he walked passed towards the Pala, having bumped into his brother on the way to the car.

Sam watched his brother before shaking his head and motioning to Chloe with his head towards the car they were using. "I was thinking, until the idiot stops acting so weird, that maybe I should sleep in your room when we stop for nights at motels." He slipped into the driver's seat and waited for her to do the same before continuing. "It doesn't make any sense to let you stay in a room by yourself in which you could be kidnapped during the night and we wouldn't know. And anyway, we're paying for an extra room we don't need. We'll just get two twin rooms. Dean can bunk with Bobby and me with you."

"I don't see why not." Chloe mumbled, thinking it over as they pulled out into the road. "I don't have a problem with it, and I don't see why anyone else should either."

Sam's lips pulled back in a smirk. "I don't know about _that_, but until he stops acting like an idiot he doesn't have a say."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Dean wouldn't have anything against us sharing a room."

Sam chuckled darkly. "Yep. Of course not. He'll be _thrilled_."

"Jess would have more problem with it than Dean." Chloe pointed out.

"Nah." Sam shook his head. "Not only does she trust us, but she's not the possessive type. Especially not when it comes to you." He sent her a sideways glance. "She knows that neither of us could ever see each other as a romantic interest, not anymore at least."

That was true.

Back in Stanford when she'd met him there'd been potential for a romance, and some sparks, but that was all it'd ever been and those sparks had quickly converted into sibling affection.

"Don't get me wrong," Sam made a face. "If I'd never known Jess I'd be jealous as hell of my brother..."

Chloe leaned her head hard against the headrest and sighed as she stared at the road ahead of them. "I kissed him."

Sam nodded slowly. "And?"

"And he's now avoiding me." Chloe wondered why Sam expected more.

"Wait." Sam's blue/green eyes widened as he sent her a quick, startled, completely disbelieving look. "You're telling me that the reason he's like this is because you _kissed_ him?"

"Yeah." She nodded slowly.

"When did you kiss him?" Sam squeaked.

"As soon as we got a lot of distance between Viktor and us." Chloe murmured.

Sam's eyes widened nearly comically. "You're telling me that that was the first time you and my brother ever kissed?!"

"Why is that so surprising for you?" Chloe asked in confusion, cheeks blushing as she realized that this shocked the hell out of him.

What had Sam thought was going on between her and Dean?

"Oh wow." Sam leaned hard against his seat, eyes wide as he chuckled in disbelief, running a hand over his hair. "I can't believe-so that's why-_that retard_!"

Chloe's eyebrow rose in confusion.

Sam laughed in dark amusement, shaking his head. "Okay, things are slowly starting to make sense to me now."

"Well that's good, because you're totally lost me." Chloe chuckled softly, awkwardly.

"Chloe, _please_ tell me that you see it like the rest of us." Sam pleaded, eyes wide on her. "Please _tell_ me that you get _why_ he's acting this way!"

"Of course I do." She whispered. "I clearly overstepped my boundaries and-."

"Oh for the love of-_Chloe_!" Sam rolled his eyes. "That's not the reason at all! Jesus." He sighed darkly. "Chloe, the reason why Dean's acting the way he is, is because-."

Chloe's eyes widened in horror as her gaze returned to the front and she saw the man standing in the middle of the road, facing them, hands in his pockets as he just watched them speed towards him. "SAM! WATCH OUT!"

Sam's gaze returned to the road and he cursed as he swerved violently, but the speed he was going at was their ruin.

As the car flipped sideways in the air, Chloe watched the unfamiliar man turn to face them, watching intently, right before the car slammed down onto the asphalt and everything went black as glass broke and metal crunched.

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Uriel shot up, eyes wide as he felt that wave of immense power ripple across the globe.

What had that been?

And why did he have a feeling of foreboding?

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While the last thing Chloe could remember before everything went black was the crash, when she awoke things were very different. For one thing, she wasn't as hurt as she would have expected given the crash, only sporting a couple of bruises and scratches. The other thing was the fact that she wasn't at a crash site or a shitty motel room or a hospital bed.

No.

She was in some sort of observation room, and yet she doubted that it belonged to a normal hospital because there were sigils and symbols of every kind, drawn in so many different substances (many of them seeming blood). The walls were clouded and smoky mirrors, and she was almost sure they were two-sided mirrors.

Had the man who'd been standing in the middle of the road been a Dalakis?

Had they taken her back to the fold?

If so, what the hell were they doing?

What was this whole damn thing?

"Let me out you freaks!" It probably wasn't good to piss these people off, but Chloe needed to provoke them into doing _something_ other than watching her from the other side of the mirrors. "You think you can just cause an accident, _kidnap_ me, and get away with it? You _fucks_!" She kicked at one of the walls. "Dean's going to kick your asses! And Sam's going help him!"

Nothing.

And then...the sprinklers above rained down on her cold and shocking.

She shivered, hugging herself. "Is that the best you've got? You're going to _wet_ me into submission? Yeah. Real creative." The blonde shivered, her teeth clattering as her gaze followed a mechanical whirr, realizing that above the sprinklers, safe from the water, was a camera following her every move.

Annoyed beyond belief, Chloe stared straight up at the camera and flipped the viewers off.

A small little section in the door slid open enough for something to be slid into the room.

A silver dagger.

The girl eyed it curiously, before her gaze suddenly widened and went to the symbols once more.

Wait a-.

"Ohm..." Chloe went to the walls once more, placing her hands flat against the mirror as she stared at her own eyes, knowing that it would seem as if she was looking at whoever was on the other side. "Are you guys actually hunters? Because these symbols and the cameras and the-is it holy water?" She wiped the water raining down on her from her face. "Are you bathing me in holy water?" She brought a little of the water to her mouth and tasted it. "Mixed with salt."

The water cut off.

The whole hunter theory was becoming more plausible by the second...but what exactly had happened between the accident and here? And why was she being tested?

Going towards the silver dagger, Chloe made a face as she raised her arm and cut herself enough to draw blood. "Uh, so, no silver allergy." Her eyes widened. "Silver-camera-I'm being tested to see if I'm a shape shifter." She dropped the bloodied dagger, going back to the wall, ignoring the blood draining down her arm as she placed her hands against the mirror once more, wishing she could see the other room and not just her reflection. "Why do you think I'm a shape shifter?"

There was no answer.

Annoyance took over her confusion.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU AND WHY AM I HERE? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?" She slammed her fists into the mirror, causing it to shake. "ARE YOU THE ONES WHO MADE SAM AND I HAVE THAT ACCIDENT? IS HE OKAY? WHERE ARE DEAN AND BOBBY? WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM?"

Nothing.

"ANSWER ME!" She felt a little dizzy and leaned her forehead against the mirror before turning and sliding down the mirror wall, sitting on the wet ground, realizing that she was bleeding more than she'd expected. She must have cut deeper than thought.

There was a thundering sound, and then the door's bolts were undid and it was kicked in, a figure backlit by the light standing in the doorway before hurrying inside the room and kneeling down in front of her, his calloused hand brushing her wet hair from her face. "You cut too deep you idiot!"

"_Dean_?" She asked in confusion before whimpering as she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "I was so worried about you!"

He hesitated for a split second before wrapping her in his arms so tightly it nearly hurt to breath, his grip trembling. "I thought I'd never see you again."

"What _happened_?" She whispered, pulling away enough to stare in his face. "The last thing I remember is that man in the middle of the road, and then the crash, and then I woke up here and-why was I being tested to see if I was a shape shifter or demon or ghoul or-?"

She didn't get the rest out.

And the only reason why was because Dean's lips were on hers and he was kissing her as if his life depended on it. The kiss was completely different than the one they'd shared, this one utterly desperate and urgent and she tasted salt that didn't come from the water covering her.

Pulling away slowly, eyes wide and face burning, Chloe stared up into Dean's red eyes in confusion and a little fear. "You-did you-did we-why did-_who died_?" She was just so shocked and confused, and the kiss had left her half stupid as she stared up at him in confusion before tightening her grip on his shirt. "Did Sammy die? Is that why you're seeking some sort of emotional reassurance or-uh-? What _happened_?" She then suddenly realized something she hadn't in her fear, her eyes widening in horror as her hands went to his face softly, carefully. "How did you get that scar? Were you in an accident too?"

Dean stared down at her face before letting out a tormented sound and pulling her into his arms, holding her tightly once more, as if he refused to ever let go of her.

Chloe wrapped her arms around him, unsure of what was going on, yet so relieved that Dean was back to being normal...ish...with her.

There was a movement in the door, and Chloe's eyes widened when she saw Sam and a guy she'd never met before standing there, watching her.

"How is this possible?" Sam asked the other man.

"I felt a _ripple_ for the first time in _so_ many years." The other man responded, eyeing her oddly. "Someone _very_ powerful is responsible for this."

Sam's gaze turned towards her, hopeful, yet reserved. "Hello, Chloe."

"You're fine." Chloe tried to pull away from Dean but he was resistant, so she just stayed there. "I was so worried, after the crash-."

"The crash." Sam echoed the word, eyes narrowing slightly in confusion.

"The crash we were in...right before I woke up here?" Chloe asked in confusion, and when Dean let go of her (as if sensing her mounting worry) she leaned hard against the wall, eyeing them all warily. "What's going on? Where are we?"

"You don't know where we are?" The other guy asked in confusion.

"Would I be asking if I knew?" She snapped in her growing fear as she eyed them all.

Something was off.

Something was _really_ off.

Sam and the guy shared looks.

Dean's eyes narrowed on her slightly as well. "How can she not know this place?"

"Why should I?" She snapped at him. "I've never been here in my whole life!"

"Never-?" Sam's eyes widened.

The other guy took a step into the room. "Tell me about this crash you remember having."

"How about you tell me who the _hell_ you are before I go answering any of your questions?" She was starting to hyperventilate as she stood.

Dean's and Sam's eyes widened in utter shock.

The man froze. "You...do not...know me."

"Should I?" Chloe looked between the three of them, her hands pressed against the wall behind her.

Dean stood, eyes never leaving her, although he was obviously talking to the other man in the room with them. "What's going on Cas?"

Cas, this other man, eyed her curiously before coming closer. "I will not hurt you, but I need to touch you."

"I thought you couldn't-?" Sam turned to Cas, eyes narrowed.

"There's residual power emanating from her, I can use it if I don't hesitate too long." This Cas guy declared.

Chloe pressed harder against the wall, not understanding what they were talking about.

"It's okay baby." Dean's voice was reassuring and soft. "Just let Cas do his thing."

She turned to look at Dean in shock at that unexpected pet name and thus didn't notice the other man's quick approach until his hand was pressed to her forehead and then her breath escaped her as her mind seemed to be invaded.

In seconds it was done and the both of them were near faint, Sam steadying this Cas guy, while Dean wrapped his arms around her.

She trembled, confused, worried, and nauseas from whatever that guy had done. "The _hell_ was that?"

"You shouldn't have taken the risk Cas." Sam scolded the guy softly, worriedly. "You aren't what you used to be."

Cas brought a hand to his head before turning to Chloe in surprise. "She was sent here."

"Sent here?" Sam frowned. "By who?"

"Who the hell cares? It's really her!" Dean snapped at his brother before his light hazels went to Cas. "It _is_ her."

"It is." The other man nodded his confirmation. "And yet...not exactly."

"What do you mean?" Sam's blue/greens were narrowed. "What did you find out?"

Chloe looked between them all, confusion mounting.

"I don't give a fuck." Dean hissed, bending down and picking the surprised girl into his arms bridal style. "I'm taking her to the infirmary to get her arm looked at. It's bleeding too damned much and I'm not about to let her bleed out here while you two go over unimportant particulars."

Sam opened his mouth to say something before shaking his head and moving out of the way.

Dean stormed out of the room into the corridor, which was run down and very unhygienic, people whispering and making way as he stormed down the hallway with her.

Chloe had never seen any of these people before, nor this place, and yet she could see recognition in their eyes. Some gasped in horror and pulled away, some people had tears in their eyes, and yet others looked like they wanted to come closer and but didn't dare to.

Where the _hell_ were they?

What the _hell_ was going on?

And why couldn't she remember any of it?

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**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Supernatural**

Sequel to: Realizations

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Dean had been silent during the stitching up of her arm, and Chloe felt as if the doctor in torn civvies had been silent throughout the whole procedure because of nerves. She didn't understand what was happening, and no matter how hard she tried to wrack her brain she couldn't remember anything after the accident. Obviously something wasn't right, especially since no one seemed to know what accident she was talking about, and the blonde couldn't help but feel sick to her stomach. She'd insisted on walking once they'd left what was obviously supposed to be the infirmary. There was nothing wrong with her legs and being carried around by Dean would just keep her from being able to concentrate on the things going on around her. She needed the physical separation almost as much as he seemed to need touch, and she could tell that it was hard for him to walk with his hands at his side.

There was silence as he led her through a series of twisting and turning corridors and stairs before finally stopping in front of a room, hesitating only a second before opening the door.

Realizing he was holding the door open for her, Chloe's lips parted in shock. "Since when are you a gentleman?"

He flinched.

She could have kicked herself for that, but the girl was getting more and more freaked as she hugged herself and gave him a small smile to let him know it'd been a joke before moving passed him into what was obviously a well-used bedroom that'd seen better days. Like the rest of the facility the room was in desperate need of a new coat of paint, and there weren't any windows at all. The lights above weren't half as bright as they should be, but given the disarray she figured it was best for some things not to be seen in the bright light.

Stepping further into the room, the blonde cast a glance around the room, eyes skimming over the bed with the faded sheets, a little sound that was almost amusement escaping her lips as she hugged herself tighter. "I like the sheets. They're-."

"Epically _green_." He finished, almost as if repeating something he'd heard quite a many times.

The blonde sent him a little wary look at that as she nodded. "Took the words right out of my mouth."

Dean opened his mouth before closing it with a sigh, running his hand over the back of his head as he stood in the doorway. "So I guess it makes no sense to ask if you remember this room."

"Remember this room?" She snorted as she gave it another quick look over. "Why? What happened here?" She made her face at a stain on the darkest corner of the room. "Someone didn't die in here, did they?"

"What?" He sounded completely confused.

"That dark stain over there." She made a little face at it, pointing. "That's not blood-splatter or something, is it?"

The hunter just stared at her, disappointment on his every feature, before he shook his head. "No."

"Oh." Now almost sure that no sort of homicide had taken place in this room, Chloe ventured towards the bed and gazed at it, bending over and surprised to realize that while the sheets were very worn and somewhat faded, that they were very much clean. "So, why should I remember this room?" She turned towards Dean, caught off-guard by the look in his eyes.

The hunter tore his gaze from her, staring down at the ground to the right, head tilted away from her.

Chloe gulped, gaze going around the room to keep from looking at the increasingly uncomfortable looking guy. Her green narrowed on something in another corner and she found herself pulled towards one of the two trunks. "Is that-?" It was. It'd been the trunk at the foot of her bed at home. What-? "Why is this-?" Chloe bent to her knees and unlatched the lid, pushing it open and just staring down at her little treasures.

There was silence in the room.

Closing her eyes, Chloe took in a deep breath as she stood, lowering the lid on the trunk once more before turning to Dean. "This is my room, isn't it?"

Something odd passed his eyes, but he merely nodded.

Chloe collapsed onto her trunk, staring up at him in confusion. "What the hell is going on?"

"You _really_ don't remember _anything_?" Dean asked softly.

"I remember things!" She protested, leaning forwards and hiding her face in her hands. "I just don't remember this place or these people or this Cas guy and his Jedi Mind Tricks!" She flung her hands out in her frustration. "How can he do that? Where's Bobby? And why aren't there any windows in this damned place? That can't be healthy! People need fresh air!"

Dean hesitated a second before entering the room and closing the door behind him, leaning against it. "Tell me up to what part you remember, and we'll try finding the missing pieces together."

He was being incredibly _nice_ about this.

"Okay, I'm game." Chloe licked her lips, staring at him, leaning forwards with her elbows on her knees. "The last thing I remember was apologizing to you and then getting into the accident with Sam because there was a man just _standing_ there in the middle of the road staring at us."

Dean was in the middle of scratching his forehead when he froze. "A man?"

Chloe froze as well, eyes wide in horror at him. "What is that?"

In seconds he'd reacted and pulled out a gun she hadn't even known he'd had on him, training it on the dark corner behind him. "What is it? What do you see?"

She was taken back by the severity of his reaction, pressing hard against the wall as her eyes widened. "Nothing to be pointing a gun to! Put it away!"

He turned to face her, confusion in his light hazels as he slowly lowered the gun. "If you didn't-_what_ were you talking about?"

"Your _hand_." Chloe gulped, her throat dry, finding it terribly hard to swallow all of a sudden. "Since when do you wear a wedding band?"

Dean's gaze, which had lowered to his hand in confusion when she'd first started, widened in horror as she finished her question.

"You were _not_ married this morning!" She felt like she was going to have a nervous breakdown. "This isn't real." Her eyes widened. "This. Isn't. Real." A little dark laughter escaped her lips as suddenly everything made sense. "This whole thing isn't real. You're not real." She laughed harder, turning and kicking the trunk. "Very FUNNY Viktor!" She yelled at the ceiling, pissed off beyond belief. "You _really_ had me going for a little bit there but then you had this conjured up or shapeshifter Dean married?" She sneered up at the ceiling, arms flung out on her either side in fury. "Well guess what? I _know_ Dean Winchester! And he is _not_ the marrying type!" She gave the trunk another kick. "So before you do something like this you should know your subject better! YOU ASSHOLE!"

Throughout this whole thing fake!Dean was deadly silent.

Chloe turned to confront him, mouth wide, when she saw the horror in his pallid face as he stared at her.

There was pain unlike anything she'd ever seen in his eyes and features as he seemed unable to look at her, closing his hand tightly before slamming his fist sideways into the wall.

The blonde gulped, because _damn_, this guy _really_ looked like Dean and it was _hard_ to see him going through such obvious pain and not do something about it.

She just needed to remember that this wasn't Dean!

He wasn't!

"I want Dean." She cleared her throat, hating the way her voice wavered. "Take me to Dean."

He let out a little dark chuckle, gaze on the floor. "I'm Dean."

"No, you're _not_." She countered, refusing to be suckered in by this deceit again, no matter _how_ convincing the actor was. "I don't know who or _what_ you are, but you're not _Dean_."

"I _am_." He whispered, raising his light hazels to her finally.

"You _aren't_." Chloe gulped, hating how hard she was finding it to see the deception. "I don't know if you're a shapeshifter or a ghoul or a dream or a hallucination conjured up by a Dalakis, but you're _not_ Dean. This is _not_ my room. I've _never_ met that Cas guy. And _my_ Dean isn't married. He's never been married and probably never _will_." She butched up, anchoring herself to those monumental truths, to facts. "Half an hour ago I was traveling with _Sam_ and talking about the motel room he and I would be sharing tonight. THAT is real. THIS is not."

Dean, who'd been shaking his head and lowering it, shot up and narrowed his eyes darkly at that. "_What_?"

"You _heard_ me Mr. Imposter!" If this was a dream, maybe a confrontation would work to dispel it and help her wake up. The last time a Dalakis had put her under in a dream spell Dean had told her that she'd gotten out of it by confronting her fear for her mother by not just hiding and cowering away, but by wishing to get out of the dream. "You're not my Dean and that Sam is not my Sam!"

"Why were you going to share a room with _Sam_?" Dean snapped.

"That's none of your business, Imposter!" She snapped right back at him.

"The hell it isn't!"

The blonde closed her eyes tightly and stuffed her fingers into her ears as she began to scream at the top of her lungs. "I WANT TO WAKE UP! I WANT TO WAKE UP! I WANT TO WAKE UP! I WANT TO WAKE UP!" She kept screaming until her throat was hoarse, and finally the girl opened her eyes, finding her still in the room.

This time she was alone though, the fake!Dean gone, having locked the door shut behind him.

The blonde cried as she collapsed on the trunk, crying into her hands. "_I want to go home_."

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Dean leaned on the other side of the door, able to hear her sobs. He closed his eyes tightly as his hand rose to clasp the ring hanging on the chain around his neck, hidden under his shirt.

"_I just want to go home…"_ her voice begged softly in between hiccups. "_Please just let me go home_!"

"You _are_ home." He whispered, tightening his grip around the ring.

Every night since her death whenever he'd close his eyes he'd see her greens staring into his, filled with tears, right before she was killed. There'd been nothing he could do, and the impotence had nearly driven him insane. He knew for a fact that he wasn't the same person he'd been before (not that any of them were). His anger and fury and _hatred_ had been the only things keeping him alive these past years. They were the only reason why he still fought, why he didn't give into the overwhelming, constant temptation to put a gun to his temple and pull the trigger. That…that and the ring that rested against his heart.

When the scouts had come across the unconscious woman and brought her back, news had quickly reached Dean, and no one had wanted to believe that she was really her. They'd put her under every single test that they could think of, sure that she had to be some sort of spy, some sort of supernatural creature placed there to gain their trust, and yet Cas had actually been able to tap into whatever angelic powers he'd had left and confirmed that it was _her_.

"Tell me it's true!" Lois' voice caused Dean to open his eyes as he saw the brunette rushing towards him, face betraying her hope. "TELL me that it's her and she's here and that she's _alive_!"

Dean nodded.

Lois reached him and hugged him tightly before pulling away, tears in her eyes. "Where is she?"

Something was thrown against the door and broke. "LET ME GO YOU ASSHOLE!"

Lois' eyes widened. "What-?"

"She doesn't seem to remember things the way they happened." Sam's voice heralded his approach as he turned the corner, face somber as he stared at them. "Cas wasn't able to get much from when he touched her, except that someone with great power is at fault. She had enough residual power within her that he was able to tap in and use it when he touched her." Sam frowned darkly. "Left him drained though, he had to go to bed."

"Are we thinking Michael then?" Lois frowned darkly.

"Power-wise he's the most likely candidate, but why would he resurrect her after having her killed? And if he did bring her back, why has he been keeping her and how could she have possibly gotten free?" Sam frowned. "And I don't understand what Cas meant when he said that she was Chloe and yet not exactly. Is he referring to the fact that she's been resurrected…or something else? What if we're not really dealing with Chloe?"

"That's _her." _Dean snapped, refusing to let Sam put her through more of his damn tests to prove what Dean knew by just looking into her eyes.

"I understand that you don't like the thought of her going through more tests, but for everyone's peace of mind and _safety_-." Sam began.

"Don't start dammit!" Dean hissed at his little brother, barely keeping from punching him. "That's my _wife_ you're talking about! Not some high school science experiment!"

Sam sighed, lowering his gaze. "I loved her too, Dean. Don't think this is easy for me."

"It seems you're _enjoying_ prodding and probing her!" Dean snapped back.

"This is _not_ the time you two." Lois got in between them, pulling them away from the door and walking them towards a deserted hallway. "If Cas said that it's her, and if Dean says it's her, then guess what Sam? Those two would know. It's. Her." She then turned to Dean. "But she should be dead and we _all_ know it." She raised her hand to quiet Dean when he spoke. "Adam killed her in front of our eyes…" Lois' voice trembled for a second before clearing it and continuing. "Even if we didn't actually see the death, which we did, the Apocalypse began. That could only happen if the Sword killed the Asset, we _all_ know that-_and_ that there was a fair amount of cheating that went on to make sure that could happen and heaven didn't have to wait so long."

Dean's gaze lowered.

"So _how_ is she in that room? Alive?" Lois wanted to know. "She's Chloe. And yet she's alive although she should be dead. How? Did someone work some serious mojo to bring her back? If so, why? What do they get out of it? And is the fact that she mysteriously resurrected the reason why her memories are whack? _Those_ are the questions we should be asking ourselves."

Sam ran his fingers through his silky hair. "I'll talk to Cas about this when he wakes up. Maybe there'll still be enough residual power in her for him to find out something else."

"We really shouldn't push Cas." Lois frowned in worry. "It's a wonder he was able to do as much as he's done already. You know he was cut off because he sided with us over them."

There was silence as the three considered what their next move should be.

"We need to see _him_." Dean finally declared what he knew Sam was already thinking.

Lois' eyes widened. "You can't be serious!"

Sam flinched. "He might be the only one with some insider knowledge."

"No." Lois shook her head, having never gotten over her grudge. "_No_."

Dean steeled himself. "He might be the only person who can help us understand what is going on, and I'm not about to be too proud to get help for Chloe."

That might have been a little below the belt, but Lois flinched and went silent, sighing, gazing going towards the door. "I don't trust him."

"None of us do." Sam reminded her, making apace of his own. "But with how things are, we might have no other choice."

"Great." Dean nodded. "Let's go."

"_Now_?" Lois made a face.

Inside the bedroom, Chloe broke something else. "DEAN, SAM, AND BOBBY ARE GOING TO KICK YOUR ASSES! YOU FREAKS!"

Sam sighed. "No time like the present."

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Her tantrum was getting her nowhere.

Finally collapsing on the bed with a growl, Chloe stared up at the ceiling and clenched her hands in the sheets, annoyed and worried. What was going on? Who had her? And where were Dean, Sam and Bobby? Were they okay? Were they alive? Were they searching for her? Did they even know where to begin searching? Maybe that man had taken her from the wreck and they'd had to continue on towards John in case he knew more? Maybe they were traveling in the Pala towards the town John had told them he was in on a hunt?

Was Dean a little relieved since now he didn't have to deal with the awkwardness he felt towards her and her stupid kiss?

Groaning, Chloe covered her face and fought the desire to cry again.

Crying would get her nowhere.

She needed to do something.

Getting up, she went to her trunk and opened it, shuffling through her many treasures. She smirked as she came across what she was looking for, pulling it out before noticing something else beneath it, frowning as she pulled out the picture frame she didn't recognize. The picture within was of Clark and some woman she didn't recognize getting married, with Pete acting as best man and Chloe as maid of honor. The weird part of this picture was that _Dean_ was the one marrying the two. And it wasn't a very marriage-y setting, the bride and groom were _definitely_ not in the normal tuxedo and white gown, but Chloe somehow knew that this was a wedding.

Confused, Chloe forgot her mission for a minute, just staring at the picture.

What was this?

Shaking her head, refusing to be sidetracked by what had to be some sort of game by the Dalakis (or whoever had her), Chloe grabbed what she'd come here for and went to the door. She pressed her ear to it and listened for any sounds, finding none. When she was almost sure that there was no one on the other side, she pulled out the two picks and stuffed their leather case in her back pocket before beginning to go to work on the lock. When she'd begun getting the hang of the self-defense lessons Dean had been putting her through the last couple of months he'd slowly graduated onto teaching her other tricks of his trade, and picking a lock had _always_ been an interest of hers, so she'd mastered that incredibly fast.

Hearing the click as the door unlocked, Chloe put the two picks with the others in the case and returned them to her back pocket before slowly opening the door and peeking outside, finding an empty corridor. There were two ways and Chloe went on instinct, racing in one. She felt like every time she reached a fork in the road she somehow knew which way to go, when to hide, her instincts not like she remembered them as she hid when people crossed and then raced upwards different stairs. The lack of windows made her suspicious that they were below the surface in some sort of underground lair, and that just made her whole "trapped by something evil" theory _so_ much more credible.

Finally, when she found a floor that had boarded up windows her heart rejoiced, yet she didn't let her guard down, didn't stop running until she came to a door with symbols and traps and all sorts of guards.

Gulping, Chloe somehow knew this was the way out, and for some reason a part of her didn't want to go.

Shaking her head, telling herself off for hesitating since she'd miraculously made it this far, Chloe unlocked the door and pulled it open, racing out…into a disaster zone. The blonde only made it a couple of feet away from the building before the state of the buildings and everything else around her registered in her mind, and the blonde stumbled to a stop as she stared around her in confusion. Where the hell was she? It looked like they'd been in some sort of _war_. Buildings were crumbling, cars were burnt and abandoned all around, and nature was slowly starting to reclaim everything.

Where was she?

Chernobyl?

A little terrified at the thought of maybe being in a foreign county, Chloe took off as fast as she could, trying to find something familiar…and yet there was only more and more destruction that met her as she went.

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**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Supernatural**

Sequel to: Realizations

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They moved silently, in formation, firearms in their hands as they made their way through the remains of what had once been Metropolis. The level of destruction made it seem like hundreds of bombs had gone off, and hundreds of years passed. It was hard to believe that this had all started only a couple of years ago, not even ten. And there hadn't been a bomb in sight when all of this destruction had taken place. Maybe, if it had, then things would be better for civilization. They could get over a war between themselves, but how could humans compete in a war between Heaven and Hell?

Shining the backlight flashlight on the entrance, it revealed the hidden anti-angel symbols all over the building and door, proving that they had the right place.

Dean put away his flashlight yet kept his firearm handy as he went to the door and knocked.

There was a pause, and then another series of knocks began.

Lois rolled her eyes at Sam.

Dean ignored them, answering back another pattern of knocks.

Finally the sound of bolts being opened could be heard and Clark Kent stared at them, surprise on his face. "What happened? You three wouldn't be here in person if something important hasn't happened."

Dean stared at the boy who became a man during the war. "We need to see him."

Clark stared at them before making a face. "He mightn't want to see you."

A shadowy figure emerged from behind him, and Ruby appeared. "If _she's_ here, shit's hit the fan, and he'll want to know."

The alien who lived amongst his wife's people nodded before letting them in, hugging Dean once the doors closed behind them.

Dean returned the hug, patting Clark's back before turning to Ruby with a nod.

There'd been a time when there would be nothing more that the hunter would love then to send all demons back to hell, and get rid of all of their human accomplices, but ever since Heaven had won the war and started the "Purification" the hunters and demons found themselves not only in an unspoken truce, but more times than not uneasy allies. It didn't say that Dean trusted any of the black eyes more than he could throw them, and still couldn't believe that Clark would marry the demon who'd been inhabiting Lana's body after learning the truth about her identity, but he didn't have the choice right now to be picky when it came to his allies.

"He said something happened." Ruby commented to Sam as they made their way through the many corridors to Azazel's office. "Said someone with _a lot_ of power made his or her presence known. I'm figuring that's what you're here about." She raised an eyebrow. "You know who it is and what he or she did to cause such a ripple of power."

"We don't know _who_, but let's just say we've got a good idea of _what_ caused the power ripple." Sam replied, raising an eyebrow.

"If he doesn't have any idea about what's going on, less than _us_ actually, _why_ are we here again?" Lois mumbled.

Everyone ignored her.

Finally they reached the door to Azazel's office, Brady and Tom standing guard outside of it.

"Hey." Sam nodded to his college buddy.

"Hey Sam." Brady smirked at him. "He's been expecting you." The demon opened the door and motioned them in.

Clark and Ruby stopped, as the hunters entered the room, closing the door behind them.

Seated behind his desk, Azazel eyed them with a raised eyebrow. "What took you so long?"

Lois folded her arms over her chest. "I say we walk out right now."

Sam sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Chloe's back."

Dean leaned against the wall.

Azazel's eyes widened in genuine shock before his lips curled. "I didn't see that coming."

"None of us did." Dean growled, annoyed that Azazel didn't seem to have any answers for them. "The scouts found her right outside our perimeters, unconscious. She'd been left there in one of the relatively safe zones."

"Someone left her for our scouts to find." Sam frowned, going to sit down on the seat across the desk. "Someone who knows our scouting patterns. We hadn't patrolled that area in weeks, but according to our people she couldn't have been there for longer than a couple of hours."

Azazel tilted his head to the side. "How sure are you that it's her and not some shape shifter they're using to gain access to your compound?"

"She's been put under every test necessary." Dean declared.

"Preliminary tests." Sam, the douche, corrected. "We haven't gone into more…invasive…testing because Dean won't allow it."

"And Cas says it's her." Lois was quick to remind. "He had enough mojo to work one of his Mind Melds and he says it's her, but it's not at the same time. He can't figure out why or how though."

"Hmmm." Azazel made a face. "Other than the fact that she's supposed to be dead, is there anything…off…about her?"

The three shared a look before Dean turned to the demon and cleared his throat. "Her memory."

"She's amnesiac?" Azazel made a face.

"No." Dean shook his head. "But her memories are wrong."

"Wrong as in she thinks you're the enemy?" Azazel narrowed his eyes.

"Well, she does _now_." Dean frowned, thinking about how she'd been screaming and crying in their room. "But at first she didn't." He sighed, pushing away from the wall and going to sit down on the other seat next to Sam's. "She doesn't remember the war. She doesn't remember meeting Cas. She doesn't remember Bobby's death. She doesn't remember…" his gaze went to his wedding ring and ran the hand over his face before leveling his gaze with Azazel's curious ones. "She doesn't remember marrying me." He let out a little breath of desperation. "When she saw my wedding band she went _off_, and now she thinks we're some sort of hallucination or shape shifters trying to fool her into thinking we're us. She keeps telling me to take her to the "real Dean"."

"Ah." Azazel leaned back hard against his seat. "It finally makes sense."

Lois' eyes narrowed as she finally came forwards. "What does? Cuz _nothing_ does to _us_."

"Not surprising. You're mere humans." Azazel shrugged. "I'm surprised the angel didn't realize it though."

"Performing the Mind Search wore him out." Sam defended. "He's been in a mini coma since it happened."

"Huh." Azazel eyed them curiously. "Well, in lieu of the good angel's words of wisdom, let me give some of mine."

Lois rolled her eyes, yet didn't say anything.

"The reason why that girl is Chloe and yet isn't Chloe, is the same way why Sam is Sam and yet isn't." The demon explained. "Yet completely different at the same time."

"Okay, look, we get the whole resurrection part." Sam announced as he leaned forwards. "But when you brought me back after the Blade lost to the Sword I never had any problems with my memories. Emotionally, maybe I've been somewhat dulled compared to how I was before, but my memories are fine."

"Yes, but she wasn't resurrected." Azazel announced as if this should be obvious.

"Are you saying that she's been alive all this time?" Dean went pale, horrified at the thought of her being injured and in that angel's hands for all of this time.

"No. Chloe was killed. There's no question to that." The demon declared as he eyed them. "But if my hypothesis is right, this Chloe wasn't."

"What in the world are you _saying_?" Lois frowned in confusion, coming to lean with her palms flat down on the surface of the desk, glaring down at him.

"Bring her to me and I will be able to give you a concrete answer." Azazel replied easily. "Until then it's mere speculation."

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It was Metropolis.

Chloe had nearly collapsed to her knees at the realization once she'd stumbled onto the remains of one of her favorite hotspots in the city, a half burnt sign crumbled on the ground the only thing that betrayed what it had once been. And now that she had an idea where she was, the blonde could slowly reconstruct the place in her mind to its former beauty.

What had _happened_?

How could things have changed so _horribly_ in a flash of an eye?

She hadn't even _been_ in Metropolis during the accident!

So why was she here?

And what had happened while she'd been knocked out?

Standing at the base of the half destroyed globe that'd once been above the Daily Planet, Chloe ran her fingers over it before turning to look around her in confusion and mounting fear.

Where was everyone?

How long ago had whatever destroyed this place happened?

Who'd been fighting?

And if this was just another part of a hallucination or dream she was in-what did she have to do to get out of it?

"I WANT TO WAKE UP!" She screamed at the dark sky, wondering if the sun was always that red or if there was pollution in the air or some other reason for why it was so different from how she remembered it.

No one answered her scream.

Closing her eyes, Chloe rested her forehead against the globe, letting out a little whimper. "_Where are you, Dean?_"

The ground beneath her trembled.

Green eyes flew open and she pushed away from the globe, staring around her, wary. She stayed still, a faint sound reaching her on the wind. A couple of seconds ago she'd wanted to see others, but there was something inside of her that told her to hide, and the girl did exactly so. She crawled under a half collapsed wall, sliding in when it was too low to crouch in. There were pieces of wall around her and she hid behind, a little terrified at the thought of an earthquake happening because she'd be crushed. Still, her instincts told her she was safer in there, and the blonde stayed exactly where she was.

The ground shook a little more, and the more it went on the more she realized that what she was feeling were footsteps marching towards her. It wasn't a large group, but there was power in each step as the group of probably twenty approached.

"The ripple of power, it came from somewhere close." Someone declared as they came to a halt in front of her hiding place.

"Isn't this in the same vicinity of where the rebels' headquarters are suspected to be?" Another asked.

"Could they be doing something?" Another wanted to know. "Could they have found some sort of power source we haven't contemplated?"

"That's what Michael sent us out here to investigate." The first voice declared. "I want everyone to split into groups of five and canvas the area. If there's a new player in town we need to know who it is."

"Yes sir!" The group disbursed, heading rapidly in multiple directions.

The first voice, the leader, and four others stayed around the area she was hiding in, throwing things around and searching.

Chloe gulped as she tried to sink in deeper into her hiding place.

What were they looking for?

And who were they?

Feeling something on her hand, Chloe turned in time to see a scorpion and on instinct she screamed, shaking it off of her hand desperately.

And then someone reached in and grabbed her by her hair, yanking the struggling girl out.

Chloe screamed as she grabbed onto the hand, trying to lessen the pain in her head as she struggled, digging her ankles into the dirt as she was dragged towards the leader and thrown to the ground at his feet.

"A rebel." One of the men spat on her.

The girl tried to stand.

One of them stepped down on her back, keeping her face first in the dirt.

The leader went down on his knees in front of her and grabbed her hair, yanking her head up, arching her neck painfully as he stared into her face.

She didn't recognize his face.

He recognized hers, eyes widening in horror. "_Chloe_?"

She flinched through the pain, staring into his blue eyes, trying to figure out who he was and what he wanted.

"Get off of her." He ordered the one with his foot on her back, letting go of her hair.

Chloe moved so she was sitting up, not trusting them not to kick her back down if she tried standing.

"It's really you." He whispered, reaching out to cup her face. "_How_?"

She kept her eyes narrowed and mouth closed.

"He asked you a question, human filth!" One of the others moved to kick her.

The one kneeling before her grabbed her attacker's leg and yanked it so that the other fell to the ground. "Anyone else touch her and I will drag you out of your hosts."

Hosts?

Were these demons?

Chloe stared up at him, hoping that her fear and confusion didn't show _too_ much.

The man eyed her in confusion before reaching out with his free hand and placing it against her forehead.

Just like with Cas, Chloe felt her mind being invaded-and then an explosion of white light blinded her, the force sending the man flying away from her to hit a building.

The blonde collapsed to the ground, the fatigued she'd felt after Cas had done the same thing a hundred times worse. Lights were blinding and voices were distorted as she lay on the ground, her vision going from horribly blurry to painfully sharp and back. There was movement as some of the demons (?) raced towards their leaders, while others hurried towards her, pulling out…swords.

Dear fuck.

_Swords_.

Suddenly, as a sword came down on her, another blade swung in sideways and stopped its descent, Dean Winchester standing between her and the bladed creature.

"_Winchester_." The man hissed.

"If you think I'm going to let you winged bastards touch her again you've got another thing coming!" Dean snarled, before kicking him away and attacking.

Sam and Lois suddenly were in the fray as well, wielding swords, fighting these other people. Chloe was so sick and dizzy and still suffering from the aftereffects of whatever that guy had done to her that she was more than a little sure that this was a hallucination. Because, well, since when had Dean, Sam and Lois been proficient in swordplay? And who were these other dudes anyway? What were they? What had Dean called them?

Winged bastards?

That didn't sound like a description for a demon.

Chloe was disoriented, her gaze meeting the other humanoid who'd placed his hand on her before he…sprouted wings and flew away as his last man was gutted by Lois.

"We need to get out of here." Sam announced as he began picking up the swords of the fallen and stashing them into his bag. "This was a small unit, there will be others close by who'll be drawn to the sound of battle."

"Chloe?" Lois was there on her knees in front of her, holding her face. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" There were tears in her eyes as she stared at her.

Chloe felt her eyelids growing heavier.

"_Chloe_?" Lois' voice broke as silent tears escaped her eyes, skidding down her pale cheeks. "What did they do to you?"

"There isn't time for this!" Sam grabbed Lois by her arm and yanked her up.

Dean was in front of Chloe in seconds, checking her pulse before lifting her up into his arms. "What did those angel bastards do to you, baby?"

Angels?

Chloe's gaze went to some of the bodies, vaguely noticing the outlines of large black wings behind each body.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head hard against Dean's chest, fighting to stay awake as he and the others began racing away.

She lost the battle.

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**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Supernatural**

Sequel to: Realizations

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She awoke in another strange room she didn't recognize. Like the one she'd awoken in last time there were no windows, symbols drawn on the wall in what looked like blood, and dim flickering lights the only source of light available. Unlike the other room this one wasn't a holding cell, instead a bedroom, and she'd awoken upon the surprisingly comfortable bed.

The blonde groaned, sitting up and bringing her hand to her head, which was _killing_ her. People needed to stop putting their hands on her and trying to do that whole Vulcan Mind Meld shit.

"_Hey_." Dean's voice surprised her into turning and seeing him, the man sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, watching her.

Silently, the blonde swung her legs over the side of the bed as she leaned forwards, hands on the mattress on each side of her hips as she stared at him. Just a couple of hours ago she'd been sure that he was evil and/or working for her demented family, and yet now she wasn't too sure. He'd put himself in danger to protect her, and she'd known that his worry was genuine. There was no way someone could fake the look that'd been in his eyes as he'd checked her pulse and lifted her into his arms.

He genuinely _cared_ about her.

And that totally blew her evil!shapeshifter theory to bits.

Also...Lois had been there..._Lois_.

"You saved my life."

He eyed her oddly. "It isn't the first time."

Okay, that sounded a _lot_ like _her_ Dean.

"You're not a hallucination, are you?" She asked softly, worrying her bottom lip.

He shook his head.

The blonde let out a breath as she licked her lips, closing her eyes, trying to let the weight of this sink in before those greens opened once more. "You're not a shape shifter or ghoul either, are you?"

He shook his head once more.

"Was Lois really there or was I hallucinating her?" Chloe asked softly, hoping to _god_ that it hadn't been a hallucination, that Lois was actually _there_.

"Why wouldn't she be there?" Dean's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Because she left to live with Adam Knight and never spoke to me ever again?" Chloe asked softly, her voice croaking. "Because she probably hates me and has every right to?"

Dean's eyes narrowed further. "Chloe, Adam Knight...hasn't been around for _years_. Lois has been a part of this for a _very_ long time. Before you-" he cleared his throat. "She's _never_ hated you."

Chloe took in a deep breath, trying to keep the tears from coming. "Why is Metropolis in ruins?" Her gaze rose to his disturbed hazels. "Were those really angels? And if so, why are you fighting them? Aren't they the good guys?"

"You really don't remember." He whispered.

Chloe gulped.

The door opened and the last person she would have ever expected entered. "You're awake, that's good. You had us worried."

"_Lex_?" Chloe asked in surprise, eyes wide. "You're in Metropolis?"

"Where else would I be?" He asked oddly, head tilted.

"Well, the last time I talked to you, you were in New York, busy taking over your father's business." Chloe whispered, feeling so confused and out of her depth.

Lex tilted his head to the side, eyeing her thoughtfully, before turning to Dean. "Leave us."

"The _hell_ I will." He snapped, standing.

Chloe frowned, looking between the two of them in confusion.

What was going on?

"You're too smothering." Lex's eyes flashed gold as he swung his hand towards the door, Dean's body being yanked out of the room, the door slamming shut and locking behind him.

Chloe's eyes widened. "_Azazel_."

"So you don't remember the angel, but you remember me." The demon's lips twitched in amusement. "I feel special."

"What angel? The one who attacked me?" Chloe asked in confusion. "I don't understand what's going on. The last thing I remember was the accident with Sam-but no one seems to know what I'm talking about and then _angels_ attack me and the world has gone to hell!" She ran fingers through her hair as she stared up at the demon. "I don't understand anything that's going on."

"Chloe," Azazel sat down on the edge of her bed. "Look into my eyes."

A part of her wanted to question why, but so far Azazel was the only one who wanted to touch her in some way, and, well, she felt she could trust the demon. He'd always kept his word. That counted in the long run.

Clearing her throat, the blonde sat up straighter and stared into the demon's eyes.

Azazel leaned towards her, eyes narrowed as he stared into her orbs, his own flashing a deeper gold before she felt the tug she had before with the Cas guy and the angel guy, but unlike with the angel guy, there wasn't any blinding white explosion of light. No, Azazel's experience was much closer to Cas', the demon collapsing on the bed the same time Chloe did, nausea and disorientation returning yet not as strong as it had the first two times.

"People _need_ to stop _doing_ that!" Chloe whimpered, pressing a hand hard to her head as her temples throbbed.

The door opened and Dean stormed back in, flanked by Lois, Sam, Brady, the woman in the photo and Clark.

The woman and Brady hurried to Azazel and helped him back up.

Dean rushed to her side. "The hell did he do to you?"

The others stayed where they were, obviously not sure what to do.

"Do you know what she is?" Sam asked Azazel.

"_What_ I am?" Chloe groaned, gaze sliding over to him, kinda hurt at the question.

"Hey Chlo." Clark whispered, keeping away from her, pale, wearing a similarly pained expression to see her as Dean had when she'd first seen him.

"What's going on Clark?" Chloe asked in confusion. "How do you guys know Azazel?"

"How can she know _you_ and yet not Cas? Or anything else?" Dean snapped at the demon, turning towards him once he'd realized that she was fine.

Azazel waved both the woman and Brady away from him as he finally stood, straightening one of the suits Lex had always been known to favor. "It's as I thought."

"_What_ is?" Lois snapped. "Get to the point!"

He didn't seem to acknowledge her, turning his gaze on Chloe, the blonde still unable to reconcile Lex's face with having those golden orbs. "She is our Chloe, and yet _not_."

"You said that already." Sam interrupted, obviously growing frustrated. "Explain it to us!"

"Whoever is responsible did not resurrect the Chloe we knew," Azazel's words shocked her to the bone. "He or she brought forwards a version of Chloe from the past. It's why she still smells of such innocence." His orbs narrowed on her. "How old are you?"

"Sixteen." She whispered, numb from the word 'resurrect'.

Suddenly, everyone's reactions to her, Dean's reactions-the _tests_-they all made sense!

They'd thought she was some sort of shapeshifter because _she was supposed to be dead_!

If this was the future-she'd _died_ in it.

She was dead.

Nausea and hysteria bubbled in her throat and it was all she could do to keep a lid on it and keep from having a little meltdown.

This was the future.

This-this _disaster_-was the future.

Her future.

_Everyone's_ future.

"Chloe?" Dean's voice, and the feel of his hand cupping her cheek, brought her back from the cold shock, her wide greens resting on his concerned face. "Are you okay?"

"_How did I die?_" She didn't recognize her own voice, it was high and squeaky, fearful.

Dean's eyes narrowed as he pulled his hand away. "You shouldn't-."

"How. Do. I Die?" She snapped at him, grabbing his shirt and drawing him closer nearly violently. "HOW THE HELL DO I DIE?!"

His eyes widened before he tilted his head away, stubbornly silent. "It doesn't matter. You're here now."

"You are killed by Michael's Potential Vessel." Sam's voice was severe.

Chloe let go of Dean, who glared daggers at Sam, the blonde hugging herself. "As in Michael the Archangel? As in the leader of those other angels you all fought?"

"You remember Michael?" Lois stepped forwards.

"No, but the angels were talking about him." Chloe frowned. "The angel in charge of that group, he _knew_ me."

"Of course he did." Sam sneered. "Balthazar used to be somewhat of an ally before he turned tail and rejoined the angel ranks when it was obvious who'd win the war."

"You saw Balthazar?" Clark's eyes widened. "This isn't good. He's going to go and tell Michael that Chloe's back."

"Why should he care?" Dean wanted to know with a snap. "He already got the Michael's Sword to kill her and started his little war between Heaven and Hell! He won! So why should he care if she's alive now?"

"Dean's got a point." Lois interjected. "Michael didn't do anything when Azazel brought back Sam after he and Lucifer lost to Adam and Michael."

Sam had been killed?

He'd been fighting on Lucifer's side?

Lucifer...as in..._Satan_?

Chloe tried to digest the information just being thrown around so carelessly.

Why was heaven the enemy?

Shouldn't hell be the enemy?

The blonde blinked, suddenly remembering something she'd just heard.

Wait…

"_Adam Knight_ became Michael's Vessel?" Chloe gasped.

"What?" Lois whispered, shaking her head. "_No_. Adam _Milligan_."

"Adam Milligan?" Chloe made up her face in confusion. "Who's _that_?"

Clark and Sam exchanged looks.

Dean growled. "Sam's and my half brother."

Chloe's eyes widened.

They had a half brother?

Oh _wow_!

Where had he been in her time?

Why had he become the next Sword?

And why hadn't she been resurrected by Azazel when he'd brought back Sam?

"I couldn't." The demon murmured, almost as if reading her mind. "Michael destroyed your body and soul when he killed you. There was nothing I could bring back."

The blonde gulped, staring into those golden orbs.

"_Why_ is everyone concentrating on these less important questions while ignoring the bigger picture?" The unknown woman wanted to know, hands on her hips.

"And what issue would that be, Ruby?" Lois narrowed her eyes on the demon. "What could be more important than what we're discussing right now?"

"How about, _who_ brought Chloe into the future, and _why_?" The woman's eyes went black in her annoyance. "Both your side and ours registered the power that brought her here, which means that this is either a new player in the game, or a _very_ powerful one whose been here all along and hasn't shown his or her presence until now." Those black eyes narrowed on Chloe. "Until _her_." The demon took in a deep breath. "Someone took a big risk to bring her here. And I want to know _who_. And _why_."

"I hate to say this, but Black Eyes is right." Lois murmured, running her hand through her hair. "Whoever did this had to be powerful. And we have no idea what he or she could have in mind by bringing a younger Chloe into the future."

Sam turned his gaze on the blonde. "Can you remember anything, anything at all, that might be of any use?"

The blonde, feeling so numb and confused and so in _shock_ from all she'd learnt in so little time, hugged herself. "There was a man in the middle of the road."

"_Right_." Sam's eyes widened. "This accident you said happened before you awoke in our time."

Dean frowned as he sat down next to her once more on the bed. "Why were you traveling with Sam? Where were you going? It could all be relevant somehow."

Chloe's gaze went to all those in the room, feeling somewhat suffocated, before returning her green gaze to Dean. "My father's just gotten out of prison and wants me to join my family, _his_ family. He let some of this slip, the whole I was an Asset, and Dean was the Sword, and he's supposed to kill me." The blonde pulled a blonde strand behind her ear. "He also told us that Sam was the Blade, and that once Dean killed me that he and Sam were supposed to fight to the death for some reason or the other-which I'm guessing is how this whole apocalypse happened." She sighed. "The four of us were traveling-Sam, Dean, Bobby and I-to meet up with John and see if he knew anything about this weird prophecy."

"Where was I?" Lois asked softly.

"With Adam Knight somewhere?" Chloe shrugged. "I haven't seen you since you left after the Goodnight Massacres in Luthor Castle."

Confusion colored Lois' face.

"Since when did Gabe know about what was going on?" Sam asked Dean, who shrugged. "Or went to prison?"

"Her memories were seriously fried by whatever brought her here." Ruby mumbled to Clark.

Chloe frowned as she gazed at them in confusion.

"What else?" Azazel asked, interrupting her when she would have asked them why the hell they were playing dumb.

"Bobby drove with Dean up ahead," Chloe relived what had seemed like just yesterday. "And I was in the car with Sam. We were talking when I noticed a man in the middle of the road. He was just standing there, watching us. We swerved to avoid him and the car tipped over….and I woke up in that place being tested."

Dean flinched.

Sam lowered his gaze.

Lois nibbled her bottom lip.

"You said we were driving behind Dean and Bobby?" Sam's eyes narrowed as he looked up at the blonde. "And he was in the road between us?"

Chloe nodded.

"Sounds like teleportation." Ruby mumbled.

"Means it could be an angel or a demon." Brady let out a little breath, folding his arms over his chest. "Which is what we've already guessed."

She wanted to ask what Brady was doing in the middle of this, and where Jess was, but realized this wasn't the time.

"I think its safe to assume that whoever that was, he's the one behind this." Clark muttered.

"Look, it's getting dark outside." This Ruby woman declared. "You should spend the night here. You're more at a disadvantage in the dark. Anyway, they'll be looking for you more vigorously after losing some of their men. It'll do good to lay low for a while."

"Thank you." Sam nodded. "We'll accept the offer."

Lois was obviously displeased but refused to say anything.

Azazel stood. "She needs her rest. This can be your room. Clark, Ruby and Brady will show the rest of you to yours." He motioned for his people to follow him out. "Food will be brought for you later. Now, rest."

Chloe nodded, watching the demon and his brood slipping out through the door.

"I'll come talk to you later." Clark promised over his shoulder before falling the others out, his clasped around Ruby's, pulling her out with him.

Lois seemed hesitant, yet a raised eyebrow from Sam had her rolling her eyes and following him out, closing the door behind her.

Chloe found herself sitting on the bed, alone, with Dean Winchester.

Awkwardness began filtering in immediately.

She couldn't figure why he hadn't left (and why no one had seemed surprised that he'd stayed) when it was obvious that she was being left to sleep or something. Then again, Dean had been there when she'd awoken, so that meant that he'd watched over her while she was sleeping. The blonde opened her mouth to let out an Edward Cullen crack before closing it, not sure how this Dean would react to it.

It really was messing with her, all these realizations.

She was in the future.

The future was fucked up.

Apparently she'd died and thus jump-started things going to hell.

And Dean was married.

Chloe's eyes widened at the memory, her head turning to him as she turned her body, seeming to surprise him with the sudden movement. "Is it Lois?"

The hunter raised an eyebrow, confused intrigue lighting his features. "Is _what_ Lois?"

"Your wife." Chloe leaned forwards, eyes wide, so very able to see him and Lois married.

Hadn't she always thought they were perfect for each other? Even now, their post-apocalyptic, sword-wielding selves just seemed made for each other. It made her a little bitter to realize just _how_ perfect they would always be for the other.

Dean's gaze widened before going to his ring and something shut off in those hazels as he shook his head. "Why would you think I married _her_?"

"Well, because you two never made it a secret that the mutual attraction was there, and I've always thought you two were so much alike and..." She cleared her throat, fighting the spark of resentment coming to life within her. "So, it would make sense that it'd be her, especially if Adam Knight is apparently not around anymore."

She wanted to ask how he'd died…but figured this was more important, and she could ask more information later.

Dean smiled, and it was an ugly sight as he shook his head, fingers caressing the ring on his finger. "It's not Lois. It's _never_ been Lois."

"Oh." The blonde made a face, wondering if she felt relieved that it was Lois or not. She'd always known that she could accept Dean finding someone and settling down if it was Lois because the blonde knew she could love her wholeheartedly…but she'd always had a sneaking suspicion that should it be anyone else Chloe would resent the other woman's every breath. "Did it happen before or after the apocalypse?"

"Before." Dean whispered, his gaze going nostalgic as his smile turned less ugly. "Hell of a story."

She tilted her head to the side. "You'll have to tell me about it sometime before I leave."

"Leave?" His eyes narrowed, any hint of a smile gone as he turned his light hazels on her. "Where do you think you're going?"

His strong emotional reaction to her words surprised her. "Back home."

"This _is_ home." He whispered. "Maybe not this room, but in the bunker-."

"Dean," she couldn't understand why this was so hard for him to get. "This is _not_ my home. It's not even my _time_." The blonde made a face. "I need to get back to _my_ time."

"And do what exactly?" Dean snapped, pushing up and away from the bed as if burnt. "Die all over again?"

"Maybe that's the reason why I've been brought here!" Chloe threw her hands in the air. "Maybe someone wanted me to see this future so that I can find a way to make sure that it doesn't happen!"

"That's not how it works." Dean snapped at her. "If you'd already come to the future in the past, then it would have already happened and things should have been different. But they don't change-because they haven't-because they wont!"

"That's really confusing." The girl brought her hand to her forehead.

"The point is that if your being in the future could change anything, it should have started happening already." Dean replied.

"Maybe it can't start happening until I go back." She argued.

"I'm not willing to take that chance." He glared at her.

"It's not _your_ choice to make!" She snapped at the man.

"I am not losing you a second time!" He shouted, banging his fist sideways into the wall.

Chloe's eyes widened as she just stared at him, not sure what to say.

Dean closed his eyes, obviously trying to calm himself, but his chest expanded and contracted with each breath erratically, proving his battle as his light hazels finally opened on her.

Chloe gulped, staring into those eyes.

"You were killed right in front of my eyes. He made _sure_ I could see it happening and know that I couldn't do anything to stop him." Dean's voice was low and ragged, pained, horribly vulnerable. "And then he didn't even have the decency to leave me with a body to bury. He destroyed it before me, rendered you to nothing but ashes…and I had to watch as the wind took everything away."

Chloe's stomach wanted to revolt with that imagery.

The hunter walked to her on unsteady feet before collapsing to his knees before her as he stared into her greens. "What are we? In your time?"

The question confused her further as she stared into his intense orbs. "I don't understand the question."

Dean stared up into her eyes as he raised his hand to cup her cheek, caressing her skin with his thumb.

Chloe gulped, her heart beginning to race as her bones melted at the intensity in his stare.

The hunter reached out to clasped her hand in his, bringing it to rest over his heart, willingly betraying his own racing beats.

It completely blew her away, how he was letting her see his vulnerability.

What-?

Dean pushed up and Chloe understood what he must have felt back in her time when she'd kissed him, because the progress was slow enough for her mind to explode in shock and realization of what was going to happen before Dean's lips were on hers and moving.

He'd kissed her before, after the testing session, but she'd just been shocked and confused and sure it was nothing but impulse or relief or something like that.

Now though, this was deliberate, slow, completely controlled.

His hand kept hers against his racing heart as he tilted his head slightly so as to take the kiss deeper.

Chloe felt her body shivering, shaking as she slowly returned the kiss.

He seemed to know instinctively that her senses were quickly being overloaded and pulled away, resting his forehead against hers.

"_Dean_?" Her voice was whispery.

"Yes?" He whispered back.

"_Are we married_?" The hand she held over his heart clasped around his shirt into a quivering fist.

He didn't answer, merely wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer, holding onto her as if to life itself.

Chin resting on his shoulder, eyes wide and filled with unshed tears, Chloe held on as realization hit hard.

This was the future.

The future had gone to hell.

The Archangel Michael was inhibiting the half brother Sam and Dean hadn't known they'd had.

Lois was around and didn't hate her.

And most importantly of all...

…Chloe Sullivan was married to Dean Winchester.

-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-

**TBC**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Supernatural**

Sequel to: Realizations

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There was a lot to take in.

She'd been killed by Dean's replacement as the Michael Sword (or Michael's True Vessel), who had ended up being a half brother they hadn't even realized they'd had.

With her death, the Archangel Michael and Lucifer could possess their True Vessels (Adam and Sam respectively) and had had a battle to the death (Sam's), which meant that heaven had finally won their never-ending battle with hell. One would have thought that that would have been a good thing, but then when the angels decided that humanity had unknowingly sided with hell by being so full of sin, the winged ones had then decided to start what was known as the Purification.

In other words, they wanted to destroy humanity and start all over again.

The wanted to create creatures who were pure and closer to their Father's image.

Humanity, and the little amount of demons who'd escaped the destruction of their kind after Lucifer's demise, had banded together in a very uneasy yet necessary truce to try and find a way to survive the angelic, all-powerful rule.

This was where the swords came in.

They were angel blades…as in…swords that belonged to angels.

As in…the only thing out there that could kill an angel.

In the beginning of the war a few of the angels had sided with humanity, Cas, Balthazar and a female named Anna being some of them, and it was with their help that they'd gotten their first swords and the training of how to wield them. But then the few angels on their side had either been killed in battle (Anna), defected back to heaven (Balthazar), or had had their powers removed from them slowly as a result of siding against heaven (Cas). It was then that the humans had joined the fight more physically.

And to top everything else…

…Chloe was married to Dean Winchester.

Neither of them had broached the subject since the revelation in Azazel's bunker, and Chloe was relieved that Dean seemed in tune enough with her to realize that it was too much for her to handle at once. Not only did she have to digest the whole apocalypse thing, but people were now surrounding her daily, people who she didn't know but knew her. They'd been afraid to approach her before, obviously thinking her some sort of evil supernatural spy, but now that it'd been cleared who and what she was, there wasn't a moment of the day in which there wasn't someone coming up to her. It was awkward as hell because they'd hug her, or others would tell her how happy they were to be back, while others swore that they were keeping whatever oath she'd made them promise to before her demise at Adam's hands. She'd had to fumble through those situations, not sure how to react, not sure what to say or do.

Thankfully there were other things to keep her busy and away from the people, such as sword-training, something she'd never thought she'd ever have to learn. She wasn't good at it either, something that seemed to shock the others because apparently her Futuristic Self had been Xena the Warrior Princess when it came to the use of Angel Blades. It was weird, being compared to a version of herself that hadn't hadn't existed yet and yet _had_. Being out of time was so confusing.

Especially the changes.

"I'm _fine_." She sighed, knowing better than to try and stop him from worrying. The last couple of days had proven that this Dean Winchester was incredibly…uh…overprotective. "It doesn't really even hurt."

"I can't believe he was so hard on you, I _told_ him to go easy!" Dean wasn't listening to her, holding a wet rag to the side of her face. "I'm going to beat the shit outta him!"

"I asked Sam to take off the training wheels." Chloe rolled her eyes, making a face yet stopping when it hurt. "I already knew what he was teaching me. You and Lois had taught me that much already in my time. I wanted to learn something new."

"And you figured getting kicked in the _face_ would be a great new experience?" Dean snapped at her. "Goddamn it, the whole side of your face is bruised!"

"I hesitated. Okay?" The blonde frowned, defensive. "He told me what to do to defend myself from that sort of attack and _I_ was the one who blanked at the last second. Don't blame Sam."

"You know what you need right now? A large piece of cold meat."

Chloe blinked, annoyance melting into confusion. "Does that actually work?"

"You're telling me the…uh…past version of me you knew never used it?" Dean cleared his throat.

"Not really." Chloe shook her head, trying to remember the times whenever Dean was injured. "He favored ice inside of a towel." She grinned. "He was such a big a baby about it too. I ended up being the one having to press it against his face so he could have his hands free so he could use them as he ranted and raved about how he should have done this or that differently and-." She paused, clearing her throat, realizing she was talking to Dean as if she was referring to someone else…when in fact she was telling him things he already knew about himself. "It really doesn't hurt as badly as it looks." She gave him a brave smile. "Good thing I've never been vain though because this bruising is _not_ pretty."

"Not the issue." Dean sighed, staring at her growing bruise. "You don't need to learn all of this at the speed of light. You have time. Take that time and learn this properly without getting yourself beat up."

Chloe sighed, leaning forwards. "I don't know how long I have here Dean, I have to learn all I can so that when I go back it can make a difference."

His gaze slid away as he leaned back and away from her.

Chloe knew this was a hard topic for him, but she couldn't stay here. There was _no way_ that she could stay here. Not only was she out of her time, but things were so different in this time.

Jessica was dead.

If Chloe went back she could stop that.

Adam Knight had been killed (though she was still hazy on the details).

Going back to the past could change that.

Chloe herself had been murdered by Sam and Dean's half brother, Adam Milligan.

Returning to the past would _definitely_ change that.

Chloe could see that, it was _obvious_.

And yet Dean didn't seem to see it at all.

He hadn't spent a night in what was supposed to be _their_ room since her arrival, and she could easily see the times in which he'd held himself back from touching her or saying something. Also, there were so many times in which she'd caught him just _watching_ her…

A shiver ran down her spine.

Not because it'd creeped her out…but because she'd _liked_ it.

Chloe _liked_ Dean's obsession with her safety, his gaze being unable to leave her for more than a couple of minutes, his need to touch her and make sure she was really there.

It made her feel guilty because she knew that this Dean was this way because he'd been married to her and seen her die.

She shouldn't be enjoying his pain.

It made her feel ugly inside.

It was probably one of the reasons why she pushed herself so hard to be the Chloe everyone in the bunker remembered, especially Dean.

The Chloe these people knew, the Chloe they spoke of, the Chloe they seemed to expect her to be-she was kinda awesome.

The Chloe from the future was an expert with an Angel Blade, had been itching for an Archangel Blade and had been _very_ close to one when she'd been killed. Future her was almost fluent the Enochian language, which she'd been learning from Castiel, and she'd helped teach everyone the many different anti-angel sigils and such which had helped keep them hidden from their oppressors. The Chloe from the future could shoot, fight hand to hand, and had basically been the complete opposite of what Chloe was now.

If that Chloe was dead…had been killed…how could _she_ survive?

Maybe that was what Dean was thinking.

Maybe _that_ was why he didn't want her going back to her time.

"Cas says you're picking up the sigils quickly." Dean changed the subject.

"Well, I've always excelled in the intellectual." The blonde grinned with a little pride. "It's the whole physical part of it that I have a problem keeping up with."

"You're doing fine." Dean lied. "Just stop ordering Sam to kick you in the face and you'll do better."

She chuckled, then cried out when it made the side of her face hurt.

"I'm seriously going to beat the shit out of him for this." Dean mumbled darkly to himself. "You're going to have to keep from making too many facial expressions until this heals up or its gonna hurt like a bitch."

"I'm _fine_." Chloe glared at him, trying to ignore the pain that shot through her face at that action. "Ruby should be here soon. I should-."

Dean pushed her back down when she tried to stand. "She's already here and having a conference with Sam. She'll come find you when she's finished."

"Oh." Clearing her throat, Chloe still tried to get used to the thought of Clark having married a demon.

It was hard to believe that all that time that Lana Lang had become Chloe's friend, it'd actually been a demon wearing her skin, a demon who'd in time fallen in love with her meatsuit's boyfriend-and the feeling had obviously been mutual considering that when the demon had finally come clean he'd asked her to leave Lana's body, to find someone who's body was "vacant". He hadn't even managed to finish the sentence before Ruby had evicted herself from Lana's body, and a week later she'd reappeared wearing the body of a brain dead girl whose parents had been about to pull the plug on.

According to Clark there'd been many ups and downs to their relationship after that part, but for better or worse they'd been together ever since.

"So tell me something," Chloe cleared her throat, her gaze on Dean. "How old was I when we got married?"

Dean dropped the towel he'd been holding to her bruised face, clearing his throat as he bent down to get it. "Old enough."

His reaction surprised her. "Dean?"

"What does it matter? We got married. Legally." He went to the sink and threw the dirty towel into it, starting the sink. "It's not like you were a kid and I took advantage of you." He turned to face her, resting his hands backwards against the sink. "In fact, _you_ were the one who told _me_ that we should just get married."

Chloe sputtered in shock and embarrassment. "I did not!"

She _couldn't_ have!

"Sweetheart," Dean's smirk was nostalgic and a little twisted. "You _ordered_ me to marry you."

Chloe could feel her lips parting as a flush of embarrassment rode up her chest. "You're lying!"

"Nope." Dean shook his head, smirk growing more twisted.

Thing is, he might be obviously enjoying her embarrassment, but something told her that he wasn't lying.

She'd ordered Dean Winchester to marry her.

And he _had_.

Damn.

"Are you going to explain or are you just going to leave me hanging like that?" The blonde wanted to know, hands on her hips as she slid off of the examination table.

"You really want to know?" Dean asked softly.

"I never thought you'd never get married, I was quite sure you weren't the type." She reminded. "So why exactly would you marry me just because I ordered you to?"

Dean eyed her silently. "In your time…have you kissed me yet?"

Her eyes widened and her blush grew darker.

"So you have," he grinned slightly, shaking his head. "Am I still so confused and embarrassed by what I'm feeling that I can't look you in the eyes?"

Green orbs widened. "_What_?" She pushed away from the bed. "You mean the reason why you won't spend two seconds in my company is because…?"

Dean pushed away from the sink and came towards her, his movement like a sleek animal stalking its prey as he cornered her against the examination table. "You're sixteen."

Her heart raced as she tilted her head back to stare into his face. "But I'm _legal_, and _so_ obviously willing, so what does that have to do with-?"

He leaned down, cupping the uninjured side of Chloe's face as his lips touched hers and the hunter kissed her softly, mindful of the blonde's injuries.

Her hands went to his shirt, clasping tightly as she arched into him, ignoring the pain in her face as she kissed him deeper.

Dean gripped her by her hips, raising her back up onto the examination table, wrapping himself in her as he kissed her intensely, with an all-consuming hunger.

She gasped into his kiss, trembling softly as she felt his reactions to her, his eagerness and pleasure to have her like this.

A knock sounded on the door.

Dean ignored it as his grip on her hips tightened, yanking her tighter to him.

Chloe whimpered, yet when he was about to pull away she tightened her grip on him, trailing her hands up to wrap around his neck as she wrapped her thighs around him.

Dean groaned, tightening his grip on her so much it was painful.

The door creaked open.

Chloe ignored the pain in the side of her face as she opened her mouth further to his invasion.

Dean cupped the back of her head, holding her captive.

The door closed shut.

She should be scared.

She knew that.

Any other time a man had touched her she'd felt terrified and nauseas, her mind forcing her to remember every single male who'd tried to force himself onto her. She'd remember the terror, the feeling of being trapped, of disgust. It would always flicker into any touch from a male, even if purely platonic.

But not with Dean.

No.

Instead of fear and disgust she felt hunger and pleasure, both emotions driving her to be sure that she would burn up from the inside out if she didn't have more of him.

If there was anything that frightened her, it was the intensity of what she was feeling.

The door opened once more and someone cleared his throat loudly.

Dean removed one hand from her only to show the finger to whoever had entered the room. He then wrapped it around her again.

Someone cleared his throat again.

Groaning, Dean pulled away enough to separate their lips before turning his head enough to catch sight of whoever was behind. "Fuck off."

Chloe peered around Dean to see Ruby and Sam standing there, one wearing a shiteater grin and the other a concerned scowl. "Hey Ruby."

"Chloe." The demon raised an eyebrow, still grinning like a loon. "You ready?"

"Uhm…yes." Chloe, blushing, unable to look Dean in the face, gave him a little push so she could slide to the ground and slip around him, heading towards where the others were waiting.

"What happened to your face?" Ruby made a face, noticing the darkening bruise.

Sam flinched, his scowl going darker. "That looks worse than I thought it would."

"You and I are _seriously_ gonna have a talk." Dean grumbled at his brother.

Sam gulped.

Looking between them, Ruby raised an eyebrow and chuckled before motioning for Chloe to follow her.

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"Dude, what is _wrong_ with you?" Dean growled as soon as the girls were gone.

"I did not mean to kick her, Dean." Sam sighed. "She was supposed to-."

"Oh, I'm not talking about that-but we _will_ get to that later." Dean promised, shaking a finger at him. "But more importantly-you do _not_ interrupt when I finally have _my wife_ in my arms again! And she's comfortable enough to kiss me!"

Sam cleared his throat. "About that…"

"_What_?" Dean snapped.

"She's not your wife, Dean, she's the girl who will become your wife." Sam pointed out. "You need to remember that even if the emotions are there, that she's still…innocent…and you know all she's had to suffer. You need to go easy on her, especially when it comes to-."

"You do _not_ get to tell _me_ about how my wife shies away from male touch or how to be with her, sexually or not." Dean narrowed his eyes in annoyance at his little brother. "Chloe has had it hard, yes, I know that, but she has _never _had a problem with _my_ touch. Not then…and not now…not anymore at least."

"I know you think I'm sticking my nose where it doesn't belong, but I'm trying to help the both of you." Sam assured him. "You've got an unfair advantage on her, Dean."

"How do you see that?"

"Well, you remember all your history, your marriage, everything, she's just a girl with a crush on a smoother, older guy who is reciprocating her feelings." Sam was ever the protective older brother to the girl. "You need to go slow with her…especially when it comes to _that_."

"If you're going to tell me to _not_ sleep with _my wife_ if the opportunity arises-." Dean growled.

"When you and Chloe slept together in the past she was a virgin, Dean." Sam snapped, losing his patience. "She has to go back in that same, mint condition."

"Go _back?_" Dean narrowed his eyes on his brother. "The hell are you talking about Sammy? She's not going _anywhere_."

Sam sighed. "You know she has to go back to her right time."

"The _hell_ she does." Dean snarled at him. "Are you the one putting those damned thoughts in her mind? 'Cause if you are, you better stop!"

"She can't stay here, Dean. She has to go back to her time. If she never goes back to her past then you two will have never even gotten married!" Sam threw his hands in the air.

"I'll marry her again. Here. Now." Dean was ever defiant.

"You can't-."

"What if it was Jess?" Dean snapped, causing Sam to go still. "What if Jess returned to you, and you had her in your arms again, and knew without a doubt that it was her? Could you send _her_ back _knowing_ she was going to die and there was _nothing_ you could do to stop it?"

Sam opened his mouth before closing it, looking away.

"Exactly." Dean hissed. "Stop being such a damned _hypocrite_."

And with that he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

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Taking in a deep breath, Chloe sat with her legs crossed, staring into Ruby's midnight eyes. They'd been trying to get the girl into a trance for a while now, hoping that Ruby would tap into her subconscious and get a peek of the mystery guy who'd been the cause of her car accident, and see if the demon recognized the man. But so far all attempts to get Chloe into a hypnotic state had failed, though it wasn't for a lack of trying. Cas and Ruby had alternated in their attempts to get Chloe under hypnosis, and while they always managed to somehow subdue her into the first stages of a trance, it was never enough to slip into her mind and get a good view of who or what was behind everything.

"You know what I miss?" Ruby asked randomly.

"No." Chloe responded, still not sure how to act with the demon.

"French fries." Ruby groaned, eyes going human as she threw herself back, laying on the ground and staring at the ceiling. "With lots and _lots_ of ketchup."

Chloe stared at her in intrigue, finding her lips twitching in amusement. "I was a cheese-fries girl myself."

Ruby made a face, sitting up once more. "Don't get me wrong, that's okay, but _nothing_ beats the original classic!"

Chloe shook her head, smiling, flinching when it hurt the side of her face to do so.

Ruby pursed her lips. "Dean's _so_ going to kick Boy Prince's _ass_ for that. Not to mention _Lois_. She's going to go _berserk_!"

Chloe eyed the demon curiously. "She _really_ doesn't like demons."

"Can you blame her?" Ruby snickered. "I mean, after you guys barely made it out of Mount Pleasant she's had it out for demons and angels considering they were both behind that."

"Mount Pleasant?" Chloe made a face.

"Yeah." Ruby raised an eyebrow. "The ogre incident of your ninth birthday?"

"Ogre incident?" Chloe whispered, confused. "What are you talking about?"

Ruby's eyes narrowed. "You don't remember that _either_?"

"Remember-Ruby-I didn't even know ogres _existed_." Chloe whispered, confused, wondering if she was going insane. "I have _never_ seen an ogre. My ninth birthday did not involve ogres of _any kind_…and I've never even _heard_ of Mount Pleasant, much less been there."

Ruby's eyes narrowed. "Curious and curiouser." She stood. "I think that's enough for today. It's the ex angel's turn next." She headed towards the door. "Let me know if, uh, you have any success with him." And with that she was gone.

Chloe remained sitting on the ground, staring at the door, confused.

She could understand not knowing the future events people referred to, but this ninth birthday ogre story? The _hell_?

What was going on?

This wasn't a dream or hallucination…she was more than sure about that thanks to the intense throbbing in the side of her face.

This _was_ the future…these people…these situations…they were _real_.

She'd seen them interacting with salt and silver and other elements to know that they were _not_ shape shifters or ghouls or anything of the like.

A dark suspicion rolled in the pit of her stomach, but she pushed it away, unwilling to contemplate it for now, her reasons for doing so purely selfish in nature.

Taking in a breath, pushing that suspicion to the back of her head, Chloe stood and decided to look for Lois.

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**TBC**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Supernatural**

Sequel to: Realizations

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"This is just so weird." Lois announced with a little chuckle as they drank water and wiped at their perspired brows. "I mean, you used to teach _me_ how to do this. So it's so _weird_ to be doing it the other way around now."

Eyeing the angel blade in her hand, Chloe took in a deep breath, gazing at the reflection of her slightly swollen cheek. "I keep feeling like I'm letting down everyone."

"No, do not _ever_ think that way." Lois frowned at her, taking a step forwards and resting her hand on her cousin's shoulder. "It's just that we're used to the warrior. That doesn't mean we're not ecstatic to have the girl back."

Chloe sighed, greens never lifting from her reflection in the blade. "Apparently I was some sort of Super Soldier."

"You had years of training. You were almost nineteen-almost twenty-when you were killed." Lois replied softly. "I-I still have nightmares of that day."

"What happened?" Chloe pressed, still shocked at the realization that she died so young. "All Dean will tell me is that Adam Milligan killed me in front of everyone and that as soon as he did Michael took over Adam's body and incinerated me, body and soul."

Lois closed her eyes at the reminder, obviously remembering the event Chloe was describing, the brunette much paler when she finally opened her dark hazels. "As you know, it took us all a while to figure out what was going on, about the whole Sword and Blade and Asset thing." She continued when the blonde nodded. "We'd only just realized that the Sword and Blade had to be brothers, and that it meant that since the plan was still on that there had to be another Winchester out there. That's when you first made contact with Adam. I'm still not sure how you two met, but you did, and you thought that if we brought him into our fold that it would change things. You felt that as Dean had made himself Unfit, that if Adam became a part of our little family we could defeat the prophecy and no one would have to die, at least not until the next Asset was born and the while thing had to start all over again."

"Sounds like something I'd think of." Chloe didn't want to admit that she'd been planning on doing just that once she got back to her time.

"Thing is, Dean never fully trusted or accepted Adam into the group, knowing that if you died it would be by his hands." Lois made a face, leaning hard against the wall. "And Adam never really fit in, no matter what we all did, you especially, to make him feel like family. It could have been because he was-." She cleared her throat and looked away. "He was never going to have what he truly wanted in the end, and Michael must have gotten to him because he turned on us and killed you."

Chloe's gaze lowered as she let that sink in.

Lois took remained in silence.

Clearing her throat, Chloe's gaze turned on her cousin. "On my ninth birthday-."

"Mount Pleasant?" Lois finished for her with a raised eyebrow.

"The ogre incident…" Chloe trailed.

"That _was_ a birthday to remember, wasn't it?" Lois snickered, leaning hard against the wall. "I mean, Uncle Gabe wanted to take us to the place where he'd grown up. Who would have thought that he'd have grown up in such a _psycho_ town? At least Smallville didn't have damn _ogres_ who demanded child sacrifices from every bloodline at certain times of the year!"

Oh god, Chloe wasn't sure she wanted to hear the rest of this.

"Of course, Uncle Gabe didn't realize that _that_ was why his family wanted you guys to come and visit…" Lois made a face. "And then with the angels and demons using that as a test to see if you were _really_ the Asset considering you were born at _least_ two hundred years too soon…" she shook her head. "I hate those fuckers."

Chloe tried to digest this, confused.

Gabe's bloodline?

But she didn't have any Sullivan blood in her, she had _Dalakis_.

Was this all a dream after all?

A hallucination?

If it wasn't, then what about the events she couldn't remember?

She knew for a _fact_ that she hadn't almost gotten sacrificed to an ogre!

Her life had had its shitty moments, yes, but that hadn't been one of them!

So what was going on here?

"Have to say though-that ogre eating Uncle Gabe's brother Gaston instead of you because it was so pissed at him for bringing it an "unpromised blood" was ruthlessly satisfying after the horrible things we'd been put through." Lois shook her head. "Hell of a way to find out about Uncle Gabe not being your biological father though."

Chloe's eyes widened in shock. "So you _do_ know I don't have Sullivan blood in me."

"Of course." Lois eyes narrowed slightly on the blonde.

So why did they assume that Gabe was the one who'd gotten out of prison?

"I know that you're searching for your biological father still," Lois sighed. "But let me save you years of uncertainty and waiting and hope. We don't find out who he is. I'm sorry."

Chloe bit back her correction, the blonde still not sure what was going on, yet her earlier suspicion kept growing with more and more certainty and it was getting hard to hold back the stomach-clenching disappointment.

"Chloe?" Lois tiled her head, expression concerned. "Should I not have told you?"

"No, sorry, that's fine. I was thinking about something else." Chloe gave the brunette a small smile."I still can't wrap my head around the fact that I'm married to Dean."

Lois bursted out laughing, shaking her head as she grinned widely. "Now _that_ was a hell of a wedding story!"

Chloe was tempted to ask details on it since Dean was apparently skirting the subject, but another question weighed heavier on her mind. "You didn't mind?"

"Mind what exactly?" Lois raised an eyebrow. "The fact that you weren't old enough to vote?"

Chloe's eyes widened at that revelation. "Uh, _no_." She cleared her throat, scratching her neck. "The fact that I was with Dean. I mean, I know that you and he-that-you guys never made it a secret that there was chemistry."

"Ah." Lois cleared her throat, clearly uncomfortable. "I'll admit, I was _not_ a fan at the beginning, but I quickly realized something."

"What?" Chloe pressed.

"What Dean and I had?" Lois made up her face. "Even if it had developed into a real relationship, there was no way it could even come _close _to competing with what you two have…had…_will_ have." She made a face. "This whole time warp thing is confusing."

"Tell me about it." The blonde sighed.

"You two compliment each other in a way no one else would ever be able to." Lois admitted. "With you he's a different man, a _happy_ man." She ran her fingers through her hair. "When you died, Dean died along with you. Maybe not physically, but the man who was left wasn't Dean anymore. To be honest, he was kinda scary." She turned her dark hazels on her cousin. "I think we _all _became a little scary after you died."

Chloe just stared at her.

"And I know Sam's right, that you have to go back to your time, that it's not safe for you here." Lois lowered her gaze. "But I don't want you to go." She bit her bottom lip. "I don't want you to die again. I couldn't-I couldn't-!"

Finally, for the first time since she'd come back, Chloe allowed herself to embrace her cousin.

Lois gave a little sob before hugging her tightly and crying into her hair. "I don't want to lose you again."

Chloe held on tightly, crying into the woman's shirt as she finally stopped trying to protect herself emotionally from the woman who'd abandoned her in the past and hadn't seemed to care if she lived or died. The emotion in these dark hazels was love and loss, and they'd mirrored what Chloe's heart felt, and she trusted that.

This woman hadn't abandoned her.

This woman hadn't discarded her without any care.

This woman _loved_ her.

And Chloe knew this because this woman wasn't her Lois.

The blonde held unto the brunette tightly, feeling guilty for not telling anyone what she'd already figured out.

This wasn't her future.

This wasn't her Lois.

And Dean wasn't her husband.

This all belonged to another Chloe, the one from this universe...

...And Chloe really wanted to take her place and never go back.

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"We are trying our best, but the Allied Rebels have been very thorough in hiding their positions from us." Rafael declared on bended knee.

"You're telling me that demons and _humans_ are besting Heaven's _Finest_?" Michael sat upon his throne, eyes narrowed on his subordinate. "I tolerated such _incompetence _before when it was only a matter of time before the Allied Forces fell and forever disappeared from the face of this world-but with the return of the girl I will _not_ accept your inability to do your job."

"I have my men canvassing the area where she was discovered." Rafael declared. "It's only a matter of time before-."

"It is not _enough_." Michael snarled, standing.

To be truthful, while he was intrigued with this happening given exactly what he'd done to the Asset, Michael wasn't desperate to find her. He knew that their paths would cross eventually. No, it was his host who felt the need to see her with his own eyes, and his feelings melted into Michael's own.

"Send out the _complete_ garrison if you have to." Michael ordered, staring down at Rafael. "But you will bring an _end_ to the rebels and you will _bring_ me that girl!" His voice growled. "Is that understood?"

"Yes, Brother." Rafael nodded before teleporting away.

Sitting back down on his throne, Michael felt his host's need, and reached into his shirt, pulling out the locket that had never been removed even after the Archangel had inhabited this host. He opened it, seeing on one side a picture of his host's mother, and on the other, the Asset was smiling back.

He could feel his host's pain and hope.

Sighing, Michael stared at the picture as long as his host wished he do.

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"Why did you pick humanity over your own kind?" Chloe asked Cas as she sat with him in his room, learning a summoning sigil, although she didn't know when she'd ever want to summon an angel given the fact they were the enemy.

It was times like tonight that she was glad that her mind was blocked off from their entrance. Her thoughts were a whirl, trying to fight the harsh disappointment that this Chloe had somehow done things so much better than she had. _Her_ Lois hadn't abandoned her. _Her_ Dean had _married_ her. Sure, she'd died, but Chloe figured that this world's Chloe had had a very happy life all things considered and she envied her tremendously.

"For the longest time I did not know the answer to that question." Cas announced in his monotone way, moving his fingers through the sand they used whenever practicing sigils. "But in the end it was because I realized what Father loved about your race."

Chloe looked up from where she'd been trying to copy his design.

"It's your fighting spirit, your continued hope even in the darkest times, and your ability to _love_." Cas announced. "I'd been watching the Winchesters since their birth, and once I realized you were the Asset I watched you and your cousin as well. Your mutual love and self-sacrifice-your willingness to put your own lives in danger for each other-it made me realize that I was…faulting. I began to feel, guilt, for our part in what I knew would be your death."

Chloe stared up at the angel in shock.

This world's Chloe had inspired _angels_.

"Even now I cannot help but feel that I still have so much to learn from humanity." The once angel declared as he finished the sigil he'd been drawing in the sand. "I will fight for my Father's beloved children until the day my Brother kills me."

"You don't think we're going to win this war, do you?" She whispered, staring up at him.

He gave her a sad smile. "I'd like to _hope_ we will."

Her heart clenched as her gaze lowered to the sigil he'd completed, gulping. "Why was I brought here?"

He tilted his head. "I cannot know this as I am not the one who brought you here."

She worried her bottom lip, finishing her sigil before looking up at him. "Whoever brought me here wouldn't have done so if he didn't think that it could be changed…or that the present could be saved."

"In my experience, what is meant to be will be." Cas told her pointblank. "As an angel I would send specific people to the past to show them that no matter what they did, that nothing would change the future they had."

"But I wasn't sent to the past, I was sent to the _future_." She pressed, skirting around the fact that it wasn't _her_ future. "There's a difference."

"Is there?" He asked, clearing both their sigils. "Can you remember how to make that sigil?"

Narrowing her eyes on her, Chloe sighed as she lowered her gaze to the sigil and began recreating it.

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"The Angels are getting closer and closer to us." Brady announced, returning from his scouting session. "We barely managed to slip away unnoticed from the latest garrison sent to canvas the area."

"Ever since Chloe was brought back they seem to have doubled their efforts." Clark, although the only non-demon in the whole place, was one of Azazel's right hand men and probably one of his best warriors. "It doesn't take a neuro scientist to realize that news has gotten back to him and he's angsty."

"Makes you wonder, doesn't it?" Azazel asked, wearing Lex Luthor's skin, eyebrow raised. "What about our dear little Chloe's return has him mobilizing his units like this? Does he have a _reason_ to be worried about her being alive once more, or is it the host's _feelings_ for her?"

"If Adam Milligan had ever truly cared for her he wouldn't have killed her." Clark snapped, spitting out the Vessel's name.

"I don't know," Brady raised an eyebrow, folding his arms over his chest. "From the little I knew of him, he seemed the type to fall into the "If I Can't Have You" trope…mixed in with the "Love Makes You Evil" one."

"Whatever it is, Chloe's presence is upsetting Michael and/or the host enough for him to be accelerating his campaign to find us." Azazel steepled his fingers, staring ahead of him thoughtfully. "I feel that our time is drawing nigh."

Brady looked up at that. "The Final Battle?"

He nodded. "Michael is rounding up the remainder of our allied troops and is readying for the battle which will either exterminate us, or maybe…give us the foothold we've needed for far too long." His eyes flashed gold. "I believe that Chloe was brought here for exactly this moment." He turned to Clark. "The moment it is safe you and Ruby must deliver this message to Sam Winchester and his people. They must be ready. We must fight as one."

Clark nodded before turning and leaving the two demons alone in the room.

Brady let out a sigh. "Do we have a chance?"

Azazel stared ahead of him, silent.

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Chloe gazed at the people crowded in the mess hall of the bunker they'd been holed in and surviving since the world went to hell. There were probably a hundred people at the most in the whole compound, and it terrified her to think that there might only be a hundred humans left in America, if not the world. She'd been told that there'd been no contact from any others, and other than the demons there were no other signs of life other than the angels when they swept the area looking for them to end the Purification once and for all. The surviving demons were a bit more than the humans, probably closer to two hundred, and the thought of three hundred against thousands upon thousands was terrifying.

There was no way that they'd be able to win an outright fight.

There were very few children and no old people at all, most of the survivors in their twenties to fifties, all them solemn. They also looked up to Sam, Dean, Lois and Cas, who seemed to be the joint leaders of the survivors.

A couple of them had started talking to her, telling her about how they'd once known her and how she'd helped save their lives or had done something else that had helped them.

She didn't know these people, and wasn't the Chloe they expected her to be.

"We're running dangerously low on supplies." Lois announced with a sigh as she arrived next to Chloe with her tray, which barely had any food in it. "We're on our last rations of _water_, there'll be none left by the end of the week. We need to find more supplies before then."

"What's the protocol for this sort of situation?" Chloe asked, not quite hungry, passing her plate to one of the kids passing her with an empty tray who still looked hungry.

The kid looked up at her and smiled a bright smile before turning and hurrying back to his seat.

Lois smiled tenderly at Chloe, reaching out to mess her hair.

The blonde batted her hands away, although she smiled at her.

"To answer your previous question, usually we have scouts who'd go out trying to find supplies, but the angels have been widening their sweeps and performing them more frequently." Lois frowned as she took a bite out of a stale saltine cracker. "There's no discernible pattern to their canvassing anymore, and that makes things all the more difficult." Her gaze went to the empty spots on the other side of the table they sat at. "It's where Cas, Dean and Sam are right now, trying to figure out what our next move should be."

Chloe gazed at the seat where Dean usually sat to eat. "It's my fault things are getting worse for you guys."

"That's not true." Lois shook her head. "It was always heading in this direction. At least _now_ Dean isn't perpetually, excessively suicidal anymore, so we can trust his strategic plans." Those hazel eyes slid to Chloe. "He actually _cares_ if he makes it out alive now."

Chloe lowered her gaze, blushing slightly, understanding the implications of Lois' words. "I can't get used to this…it's completely different to how things are where I'm from. He-he's not like that. Not with me."

"Even when you were young and he and I had our little moment Dean had a special relationship with you that he didn't with me." Lois shrugged, making a face at the staleness of the next cracker before swallowing. "Maybe you're just too hung up on that one time with him and me, that you're not letting yourself see your own relationship with him."

"I doubt that's it." Chloe muttered, before narrowing her eyes and sliding her gaze towards her cousin. "Was Adam Knight murdered?"

Lois froze before nodding. "Yes."

"Were you there when it happened?" She asked softly, knowing how Adam had meant something for Lois, even if she hadn't loved him like he'd wanted her to be.

"Yes." The brunette nodded, clearing her throat.

"How did it happen?" Chloe turned towards her cousin. "Who did it?"

Lois eyed her silently before pushing her own tray away. "Adam Knight died when I stabbed him through the heart."

Chloe's eyes widened in shock, unable to believe what she was hearing. "What? _Why_?"

Lois took in a deep breath before exhaling. "He was a double agent, Chlo, working for the angels."

The blonde brought her hand to her mouth, horror filling her. "_What_?"

"They'd resurrected him, taken him from hell, and put him into our lives so that they could have an inside man." Lois replied, expression blank. "He betrayed us, and in the end I did what had to be done."

"I'm so sorry." Chloe whispered, eyes filling with tears because even if he'd been a spy, he'd been her friend.

"Why?" Lois whispered, looking away. "I'm not." With that she stood, clearing her throat. "I'm going to see what the guys have decided. You should head in and get some rest. Something tells me we'll all need it."

And with that she walked away.

Chloe watched her cousin's back, a lone, silent tear making its way down her cheek.

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**TBC**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Supernatural**

Sequel to: Realizations

**tarte_o_fraises - consider yourself warned…kinda...**

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Gasping, Chloe shot up in bed, sweating, looking around her, disoriented for a moment, still half caught in the nightmare. Spencer, Jacob Goodnight, Pastor Hathaway, they'd kept interchanging in her dreams before finally turning into her father and then her mother, the woman whispering feverishly how Chloe had to die, before driving the blade deep into Chloe's chest. The blonde whimpered, a hand to her hurting heart, clutching at her shirt as the ghost pains wracked her body. It'd been a while since she'd had a nightmare as bad as this one, but considering the stress she'd been under the last couple of days the blonde wasn't surprised. Dr. Masters had warned her that stress was one of her triggers.

Running her hand through her hair, Chloe took in a deep breath, practicing the breathing exercises her spiky haired psychologist had taught her.

Slowly, _slowly_, the blonde felt her heartbeat calming, the pain in her chest diminishing until it was only a dull ache.

Chloe laid back down and tried to go back to sleep, but sleep evaded her and in the end the blonde just growled as she threw off her sheets and slipped off of the bed. She looked around her room, trying to imagine moving in here with Dean and trying to make this place a home amidst chaos and destruction. She couldn't really see that it was cozy, there weren't many personal touches, but she could _feel_ the effort that'd been made to make it a home, and that meant a lot.

She went towards her trunk, wondering exactly how hard it'd been to get those things there, when she stopped and turned towards the door. The blonde didn't understand the pull she had towards it but she followed anyway, opening it and staring outside at the darkness. She almost turned and went back inside but something caused her to look down and her eyes widened in shock when she found Dean sleeping sitting against the wall by the door.

He hadn't been spending the nights outside her door, had he?

The blonde bent to her knees, staring at his sleeping face, unable to believe the truth presented to her as he snored softly. His face was peaceful in sleep, his face turned towards her, a knife in his hand, resting on his lap. Despite the darkness around her she could make out his features, could make out the silver scar down the side of his face. She still didn't know how he'd gotten it, what battle had marred his face, and she almost felt afraid to ask.

Sighing, Chloe tilted her head as she stared at the sleeping man.

What had she expected?

She'd taken his room…where _else_ would he sleep? It's not like there was a lot of places for him to crash. The place was barely livable as it was, and was overrun by the humans trying to survive in it. It was either this or the bedroom…and he'd chosen to give her space.

Guilt eating her, Chloe reached out and gave him a little tap.

Dean's eyes flew open and he grabbed her, somehow managing to have her pinned under him, a blade to her throat as he kept her to the ground with his body.

Chloe gulped, staring up at him.

Horror filled his hazels as he realized who she was, dropping the blade on the ground. "I didn't mean to-."

"Why didn't you tell me you've been sleeping outside the door?" Chloe asked, staring up at his face, which was half-covered by the shadows.

"Not a big deal." He muttered, pushing off of her and sitting against the wall. "It's not like there wasn't another place I could sleep. I just…preferred here."

Chloe sat up, watching him. "You _chose_ to sleep on the ground."

He shrugged, unable to look at her.

"You're keeping watch." Chloe realized in awe, eyeing him in confusion, unable to understand what the other her could have ever done to deserve this sort of devotion from her Dean Winchester. "You're protecting me."

His eyes returned to her. "I have to keep you safe this time."

Chloe gulped down her intense emotion, realizing just how much the other her's death had cost him.

He was willing to sleep outside her _door_ to protect her.

She-she didn't-couldn't-how could she ever make herself worthy of this..of him?

Pushing up onto her knees, Chloe tilted her head as she stared at him. "It wasn't your fault."

Dark emotion crossed his eyes as he looked away. "I should have been able to do something. I should have been able to stop him. I-."

"_Dean_." Chloe moved closer on her knees so that she was kneeling in front of him, waiting for a second before reaching out and clasping his calloused hands in her smoother ones. "There was nothing you could have done."

"I could have saved you." He hissed, voice trembling as his gaze returned to her, betraying his self-loathing. "You're the only person I have _ever_ loved…you gave me everything….you _trusted_ me…and I let you down."

"_No_." Chloe shook her head, tears coming to her eyes at the obvious self-hatred and pain he held deep within. "_Dean_, you did _not_ let me down."

"I couldn't keep you alive." He whispered, tightening his grip on her hands. "I couldn't do anything but watch as he killed you."

"There was _nothing_ you could have done." Chloe needed his comfort him, couldn't stand seeing him like this, pulling her hands from his so she could reach up and cup his face. "None of what happened was your fault."

"I let you down." His voice shook as tears began trickling down his face.

"_No_." She let out a little sob, pressing her lips to each tear. "_Never_."

"You say that now because you weren't there…" His grip went around her, holding her tightly, burying his face in her neck. "You don't remember crying as you stared into my eyes as he killed you!"

She held on tighter, pressing a kiss to the side of his head. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me Dean."

"Don't say that." He cried.

"You _are_." She pressed a kiss to the shell of his ear. "If I died, I'd _want_ you to be the last person I saw."

"You're not going to die." He promised harshly, hand cupping the back of her head. "I won't ever let go of you again!"

It seemed like instinct, like only natural, for Chloe to slip onto his lap and tilt her head downwards as he did his upwards, their lips meeting in a kiss that exploded white and hot all throughout her body. She whimpered, feeling both as if she was unable to breathe and yet didn't need to, only needing more of his touch, his kiss. Her curiosity, her desire to feel more pleasure, to explore the feelings a brush of his fingertips could invoke in her, nearly drove her insane.

Dean tightened his grip on her as somehow he managed to get them standing, kicking the door opened behind him as he picked her up, never missing a beat as his lips moved over hers.

The door closed behind them once they'd slipped into the door, Dean turning and slamming her against it, groaning into her mouth as her thighs curled around him drawing him nearer to her warmth.

She gasped, feeling him, his want.

It was intoxicating and a little scary, yet not in a frightening way-but in a new way.

And she'd never backed down from trying out something new.

His fingers dug into her hips.

She bucked on instinct.

He snarled, trapping her bottom lip between his teeth.

The blonde could feel his reaction, his need, and she bucked once more, reaching behind her to grab hold of a light fixture for better grip.

Dean let her lip slip from his grip as his mouth assaulted the side of her neck, trailing downwards.

Something tingled in the vee of her thighs, causing Chloe to whimper as she wriggled her hips once more, desperately for contact.

"You're driving me insane." He pleaded into her neck, one hand raising to cup her breast over the material of her shirt, thumb brushing over her hardened nipple.

Chloe cried out at the electric pleasure that shot down her body at the touch.

Growling a curse, Dean returned his wayward hand to her hips. "Let go of the light."

The second she complied, he was moving them towards the bed.

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"I have a theory." Ruby declared, lying in bed with her husband, head resting over his heartbeat.

"About what exactly?" Clark asked, staring up at the ceiling.

"Chloe." The demoness tore herself from him, sitting up as she stared down at the alien. "When I was over at the human bunker I was talking to her after another try to enter her mind."

Clark sat up as well, staring at his wife. "Were you able to see something?"

"No. I wasn't lying when I said it was a failure," Ruby made a face at him before pulling a dark strand out of her face and behind her ear. "The thing is…what if we have it all wrong?"

Clark narrowed his eyes. "Rubes, you're confusing me."

"Hear me out." She sat up straighter. "What if she _isn't_ Chloe from the past?"

"What do you mean?" Clark tilted his head to the side.

"What if it's bigger than that?" Ruby asked. "What if she's actually-?"

But before she could get her words out, something exploded above them.

Clark narrowed his eyes, activating his X-ray vision in time to see the garrison starting their attack on the demon compound. "They've found us."

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Dean looked like some sort of dark god as he yanked off his shirt, revealing his bare chest to her.

He was gorgeous, and it took a minute for her to just take in his physical beauty, the scars running up and down his body just adding to his attractiveness in her eyes. The blonde itching to touch, to trace those silver patterns, and yet she was suddenly timid despite having been quite brazen seconds ago. But like always Dean seemed to know, and he just sat there straddling her hips until finally her courage returned enough for the blonde to slowly raise her hands and trail them up his body, his muscles twitching under her every touch.

Her fingertips brushed against something cold hanging from his neck, and in the darkness it took her a second to recognize it as a ring, a curious look entering her eyes as she stared up at him in confusion.

The hunter didn't answer her silent question, instead yanking the chain off of his neck and setting loose the ring. The chain fell to the bed next to her as Dean reached for her hand, slipping the ring onto her wedding finger.

Chloe's eyes widened in shock as she realized what he'd been wearing next to his heart all this time.

Her tear-filled greens returned to Dean's in time for him to cover her with his body and kiss her deeply.

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"You need to get to Sam's compound and warn him!" Azazel turned to Clark, Ruby and Brady, chaos electric as around them their comrades were being massacred. "If they've found a way around our anti-angel sigils they will have done the same with theirs. You need to warn them."

"I won't leave you." Brady shook his head. "I will stay and fight by your side."

"_Go_." Azazel's eyes flashed gold, and before the three could protest they were teleported forcefully away.

"Aw, the demon's got _heart_." A voice mocked behind him.

Yanking out his Angel blade from its sheathe, Azazel turned to face Rafael. "What would you know about hearts and emotions Rafael? It's clearly way above your self-righteous head."

"This ends tonight, demon." Rafael gave a wicked little smile, unsheathing his Archangel blade. "Tonight humans and demons will be vanquished from the face of the earth and Purity will once again rule!" He made to dash forwards when suddenly he gasped, coughing, as a blade was shoved through his back and jutted outwards through his stomach.

The blade was yanked out, and the angel collapsed to the ground, his wings outlined darkly on the ground.

Behind him, angel blade bloody, Uriel shook his head with a sneer. "I've been waiting to do that for a _millennia_."

Azazel raised an eyebrow. "I thought you ran back to heaven when Father fell to Michael's blade."

"Let's just say that I realized I'd prefer to die than have to listen to Michael and follow him anymore." Uriel declared evenly. "It ends tonight…one way or the other."

Azazel smirked, eyes flashing gold. "Let's have some fun."

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The feelings whirling inside of her were dizzying and addictive, each kiss she shared with Dean filling her with greater need. The hunter nestled between her thighs covered her body with his own, resting his weight on his elbows on each side of her head as he clutched at her hair and kissed her deeper. He gyrated his hips, pressing his need against her, the material of his jeans making the sensation hotter somehow. She curled her legs around his, her foot rubbing his calf over his jeans as she moved against him. The feelings growing inside of her were breathtakingly amazing, and she couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like without the clothes in between them.

Was desperate to know the answer.

Dean worshipped her neck, leaving his marks all over it, claiming and possessive.

Chloe's breath deepened, her breaths shuddering and a cry escaping her lips as his mouth journeyed to the hollow of her neck before journeying further down.

His teeth grazed her skin as his tongue lapped out, tasting her.

"_Dean_." Chloe pleaded, knowing what she was begging for, scared and desperate all at the same time.

A little whimper escaped Dean's lips at the sound of his name breathed so needfully from her lips, his hand reaching between them and clawing at the button of his jeans as his gaze returned to her in the darkness.

Chloe could see the question there, and her only answer was to reach up and kiss him with everything she had.

The sound of a zipper lowering mixed with their that of their breaths.

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Swinging the blade, Clark watched the angel's head as it twirled in the air right before the body it'd been attached to fell to the ground. "We're almost there!"

Ruby, who'd been up ahead, raised her hand for the men behind her to stop running. "We're too late."

Gazing around the large debris, Clark's eyes widened as he saw the humans' compound surrounded by angels, right before the wing ones attacked.

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The bunker shook with the attack, dust raining down on them, causing the two to tear their lips from each other's, staring up above them in time to hear the screams.

"_No_." Dean whispered in fear, throwing himself off of her and easily zipping back up the pants he hadn't managed to take off, reaching for his shirt and throwing it on.

"What's going on?" Chloe asked from the bed, looking around her as more explosions rocked the bunker. "Are we under attack?"

"Our sigils should have kept us hidden." He hissed, going to the head of the bed and reaching behind it, yanking out an Angel blade he'd kept hidden in there. He turned to her. "Stay inside of this room no matter what, it's angel proof. I'll come back for you."

"I'm not going to just hide in here while people are-!" Chloe gasped as Dean brought her to him in a deep kiss before letting go.

The blonde stood there, a little disoriented by the intensity, and by the time she finally shook off it was to the sound of the lock on the door being turned from the outside.

She threw herself against the door, kicking and pounding. "Dean!"

"I won't lose you again." He whispered on the other side of the door before his voice was lost in the chaos.

Closing her eyes, Chloe resting her forehead against the door and slid down.

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**TBC**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Supernatural**

Sequel to: Realizations

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"How did they find us?" Lois yelled as her angel blade sliced the neck of one of their attackers, turning around in time to meet yet another angel, their blades clashing loudly as sparks flew on impact.

"They must have found a way around our anti-angel sigils." Castiel, twirling two Angel blades in his hands, charged two angels who'd cornered a mother and her child.

"Or we have a traitor in our midst." Sam snarled, slamming his blade up into the gut of the one he'd been fighting, staring into those eyes as the life bled out of them before yanking his blade out. He turned to Lois in time for her to decapitate the angel she'd been fighting. "We need to sound a retreat. Get the women and children out."

"What about Chloe?" Lois asked, hesitating.

"She'll be fine." Sam responded, hesitating only a second before nodding. "Dean won't let anything happen to her."

"He better not." Lois whispered before rushing away to fulfill her mission.

Castiel turned to Sam the moment the brunette was out of hearing distance. "We're going to die tonight."

Sam eyed the ex-angel before nodding his agreement, knowing that even if by some unholy miracle Lois and the others got out alive, he and the others fighting were making their last stand. "It's been an honor fighting by your side."

Castiel responded by throwing one of his blades at Sam, the blade just missing the side of his face to impale the angel that'd been creeping up behind the human. "We're not dead yet."

Sam smiled before nodding, picking up the dead angel's blade, twirling both expertly. "Raincheck then."

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Chloe cursed when she found that Dean had hidden her lock picking tools, obviously having learnt from last time.

The blonde went to the door and pressed her ear against it, the sounds of fighting and dying echoing from every corner.

She closed her greens, impotence at not being able to do anything, and terror for her family and friends, welling up deep inside of her.

"_Please_." She whispered, resting her forehead against the cool metal. "_Please be okay_."

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Azazel laughed, two blades in his hands, Uriel similarly armed, each keeping the other's back safe as they fought off the angels surrounding them and attacking on all sides.

He'd always known that things would come to this, and he'd promised himself that he'd go out in a blaze of glory and guts, taking as many of the winged ones with him as possible.

All around him angels and demons fell by each other's blades, culling down numbers on each side, and while the demons had the ferocity and desperation on their side, the angels had sheer numbers on theirs.

The demon knew that he'd done all that he could, and now all that was left was to fight until his last breath.

Uriel cried out, two swords piercing his from both sides as he collapsed to the ground.

Seconds later the angels attacked the lone demon, running him through.

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There was a knock on the door.

Chloe gasped, pulling from the door and backing away slowly. "_Dean_?"

"I'd step away from the door if I were you." An unfamiliar voice declared.

It was the warning in that tone that drove Chloe to the side in time for it to be kicked in, the steel door flying off of its hinges and hitting the bed, breaking it.

The blonde pressed against the wall, eyes wide as they went towards the man in the doorway.

He was blonde with blue eyes that seemed incredibly innocent, a sprinkling of freckles over his nose and cheeks making him appear like the boy next door. He seemed no older than her, his body lean, not appearing overly muscular in the loose clothes he wore.

"So it was true…you _are_ alive." He whispered, tilting his head as he stared at her. "You couldn't have been resurrected. No Uninhabited human can be brought back if they're killed by an Archangel blade…and I watched my Vessel stab you seconds before I inhabited him."

That was when she realized who was at her door.

"_Michael_."

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Ruby cried as she ran, looking behind her at the multitude of winged, armed angels chasing after her with bloodlust. She nearly tripped but somehow managed to keep her footing as she continued running down the hallway, the cry of terror escaping her lips only seeming to incite the angels further as more and more joined chase. They jeered behind her, calling her all sorts of names and promising her pain before death, but she refused to dwell on their ugly threats, instead pushing on, turning the corner and darting down a darkened hall.

The angels took chase, all racing into the narrow hallway.

Ruby sobbed as she came to a dead end, turning around to face the angels as they came forwards, leering at her.

"It's time to say goodbye, demon bitch." One of them laughed.

She suddenly smiled at them, reaching up her bloody hand before slamming it into a recently drawn, bloody sigil on the wall next to her. "Goodbye."

Suddenly power exploded from the sigil, jolting through the angels and forcefully teleporting them far away and keeping them from teleporting back, at least for now.

The demon grinned before racing back in the direction she'd just come from, in search of more victims.

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"How are you here?" Michael/Adam Milligan asked, eyeing her curiously from his place in the doorways. "My Vessel killed you."

"He obviously didn't do a good job." She tried for defiance, hoping that Dean's promise of this room being angel-proof was accurate. "Maybe you should reconsider his position as Vessel."

"There's residue power clinging to you." Michael sniffed the air, trying to take a step into the room but finding the way blocked as if there was an invisible wall between them. His eyes narrowed, blues journeying around the room, taking in all of the sigils there before he snorted and shook his head, returning those blues on her. "Who is responsible for bringing you here?"

Chloe gulped, raising her chin, secure in the knowledge that the angel couldn't enter the room and hurt her. "Like I'd tell _you_."

He sneered. "It's not smart to antagonize the one who killed you before. I wont think twice of doing it again."

"You're not so scary when there's somebody out there who is _obviously_ stronger and _smarter_ than you who likes me more than he or she likes you." She continued antagonizing.

"Come out of your little protection and repeat that." He ordered.

"What part of that got to you more? The part where there's someone stronger and smarter? Or the fact that you definitely aren't liked by whoever it is?" She raised an eyebrow and her chin, folding her arms over her chest.

"You have more mouth than I remember through my Vessel's memories." Michael mumbled, eyeing her curiously. "Come to me."

The blonde shook her head. "_Why_ would I leave my angel-proof room and go out there where _you_ are?"

"If you do, I promise your friends will have quick deaths." He declared, obviously considering himself generous.

"My friends are going to kick your asses." She promised, going as close to the door as she dared.

He sneered at her, apparently amused with her defiance. "Your friends will all meet their end tonight, and come dawn the world will be cleansed of humans and demon _filth_ and be able to be made in Father's image like it _should_ have been so long ago!"

Chloe feigned a yawn.

He growled at her. "Your disrespect is _far_ from amusing."

"How did you find us?" Chloe ignored him, narrowing her greens on him. "This place has anti-angel sigils and hex bags _everywhere_. So _how_ is it that you've found us?"

"Simple." Michael smiled at her. "_You_."

"_What_?" Chloe's eyes widened in horror.

"They can hide _humans_ from us…but I realized something I should've the second you returned." Michael leaned against the invisible wall, smiling at her. "You're not from here, you were _brought_, and that magic that clings to you is so powerful it's left a nearly _invisible_ trail, but it was still strong enough." His grin grew wicked. "Once I realized that, I was able to tap into your special aura…and backtrack it to _every place_ you've been since you appeared. It's as if you left breadcrumbs for us to follow." His grin widened, showing a flash of teeth. "We found the demon's hovel thanks to you. We found _here_ because of _you_."

Chloe's eyes widened in horror.

It was her fault.

This was _all_ her fault!

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Clark looked up in time to see Ruby wink at him before racing away, a cry escaping her lips as she once more ran down a hallway, ten angels chasing her. The alien's nerves kept failing him every time she disappeared from sight, knowing that one miscalculation could end in her death, but he had to trust her ability to take care of herself as she did his, the alien turning his laser vision on an angel who'd been about to slice at Brady. The demon barely had time to grin in his direction before he was attacked by two more angels, flanking him on either side.

Sensing movement, Clark turned and blew hard, sending the five angels charging him flying into the wall. He then turned and raised his blade, barely staying the blow aimed at his head.

Brady screamed, the two angels' blades piercing his stomach and chest.

"Brady!" Clark yelled, trying to get to him but the angels around the alien weren't letting up, the raven-haired male barely keeping himself unharmed and unable to do anything but watch as Brady was decapitated.

"CLARK!" Ruby screamed.

Clark went white with terror. "_No_."

His terror somehow helped him dispatch the angels around him, and he raced as fast as his feet could take him, but not even his alien speed was fast enough.

Clark skidded to a stop, eyes widening in horror as his gaze met his wife's wide-eyed fear-filled gaze.

A sword was embedded into her stomach with such force she was pinned to the wall.

A silent tear made its way down Ruby's cheek as she gasped for her last breaths. "_I love you_."

And then she was gone, her head hanging low.

"_Ruby_." Clark whispered in horror, staring at his wife's body, before his grief turned to fury as his gaze turned to her killers and he charged, screaming.

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Michael tilted his head to the side, eyeing her. "Who brought you here?"

"I don't know." She replied truthfully, still shaken by his revelation that this death and destruction around her was all indirectly her fault. "I wasn't exactly sat down and given a good talking to by whoever it was. It was much more of a Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am sorta thing."

"Someone went to a lot of trouble to bring you to this universe to see this outcome." Michael declared, and then smirked at her lack of reaction. "But you already figured that out I see. You _know_ that someone ripped through the fabrics of time and realities and brought you here." He eyed her curiously. "Makes me wonder who would have that sort of power…and why."

Chloe didn't answer, chin raised.

"Even I do not have the power to do something like this." Michael continued to whisper. "There's only one who I can think of who could accomplish a feat like this who isn't...well…but it's _impossible_."

"Why?" Chloe narrowed her eyes. "Who is it?"

"Someone _dead_." Michael responded. "In _all_ worlds."

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Dean stared around him at the dead bodies littering the ground, their blood running through the compound like a river of death.

Some were angels, but most of them were of people he'd helped find and protect for so long.

Men, women, and children lay dead at his feet.

They were losing.

They'd lost.

Hearing coughing, Dean followed the sound before his eyes widened in horror as he hurried towards his brother, falling on his knees next to the injured man. "Sammy!"

Sam coughed up blood, an angel blade deep in his chest, two dead angels on his either side.

"Hold on Sammy!" Dean reached for the angel blade and yanked it out of his little brother, pressing down on the wound to keep it from gushing blood. "We'll get you mended. We're getting out of here."

"Dean…" Sammy weakly placed his hand on his brother's over his wound. "I've been living on borrowed time…it's my time now."

"No." Dean shook his head, refusing to believe that, knowing that there was always a way around ways. "We'll find Cas and-."

Sam's gaze left his and went to the corner.

Dean's followed his and he let out a little sob to see Cas' head where it lay separated from his body.

"Get Chloe, and the rest, and _escape_." Sammy whispered to him. "_Go_."

"I'm not leaving you." Dean shook his head, fighting tears. "Come on Sammy! We'll find Azazel or some Crossroads demon and-!"

"Sorry Dean." Sam whispered, shaking his head. "I'm-." His eyes went blank, his hand slipping off of Dean's.

"Sammy?" Dean whispered, tears falling into his little brother's face. "**_Sammy_**!"

All around him, angels approached, weapons drawn.

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Dean's voice screaming Sam's name echoed throughout the compound.

Chloe's eyes widened in horror, tears forming as she brought a hand to her mouth as she realized what must have happened. "_No_."

"My brother's Vessel has joined my brother in death." Michael responded, an odd look passing over his eyes before he suddenly grinned at something to his side. He nodded, quite pleased as his gaze returned to her. "Come out, and I will make her death quicker and far less painful than Sammy's was."

"Her?" Chloe asked in horror.

An angel she hadn't even realized was there pushed a female into Michael's arms, the Archangel turning the brunette to face the blonde.

"_Lois_." Chloe whispered, eyes wide. "No! Let her go!"

"Come outside and we'll talk about it."

"Don't do it Chloe!" Lois struggled in Michael's hold, a dark bruise forming around her eye, her lip popped and hair wild. "He's going to kill me anyway."

Michael kept his grip on Lois' neck as he brought his free hand to the sheathe at his hips where his Archangel blade hung. "I don't even need to reach for this to kill her. Humans are _so fragile_."

"Don't hurt her." Chloe couldn't keep the tears from falling as she slowly came towards the door. "_Please_ don't hurt her!"

"Don't do it Chloe!" Lois begged, struggling, scratching at the hand holding her neck. "Don't!"

Chloe ignored her, looking up at Michael. "A trade. You let her live, and I'll die in her place. I'll trade myself for whoever is still alive here. They'll go extinct on their own, you know that. They don't have the numbers to successfully repopulate the earth, they'd have maybe forty years at most before hunger and disease kill them off." She begged. "Forty years is _child's play_ for immortals. It'd be like the blinking of an eye for you." She tried to control her sob. "So _please_. Let them live."

"Chloe _no_!" Lois struggled desperately, tears and desperation filling her dark hazels. "No!"

"How noble." Michael commented with a mocking quality to his tone. "But I don't think I could trust you to keep your word once your cousin is safe with you in that room." And with that he gave Lois' neck a sharp jerk.

"_NO!_" Chloe screamed, falling to her knees as she watched the angel throw her cousin's dead body to the ground. "YOU _**MONSTER**_! I WOULD HAVE DONE IT! I WOULD HAVE DONE WHATEVER YOU ASKED! YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO KILL HER! I WOULD HAVE DONE ANYTHING!"

"Hmmmmm." He bent on his knees, eyeing her curiously. "I believe you now." He gave her a little pout. "My bad."

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Angels screamed as they burst into flames.

Dean finally managed to tear his tear-stained gaze from his dead brother upwards to see an injured, laser-eyed Clark Kent dispatching the last angel who'd been around him. The alien was panting heavily, stance dangerous, gaze going around them to make sure that all the angels were in deed dead, before taking a moment to take in the fallen in the room.

Clark's laser-gaze switched off as his blue orbs slid to Cas and Sam before journeying to Dean, solemn. "Ruby too."

The hunter stared up at the alien, numb.

Clark held out his hand.

Dean accepted it.

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"Come on." Michael taunted, seeming to feed off of her crushing despair. "There's no reason to stay in there anymore. Everyone you love's dead."

The hands she had against her mouth trembled as she forced herself not to look at Lois' body.

"There's nothing left for you." The Archangel declared smoothly, reaching out his hand towards her. "Just come out."

Suddenly, one of the angels who'd retrieved and thrown Lois to Michael screamed as he _caught on fire._

Chloe's eyes widened as fighting could be heard, the violence happening out of her range of sight, on the other side of the bedroom wall.

Clark appeared in the doorway and snarled as he threw himself at Michael, the force throwing the Archangel into the opposite wall. "I'm going to kill you!"

"You're going to die trying." The Archangel promised, grabbing Clark's fist when he tried punching him.

The sound of fighting on the other side of the wall caused Chloe to stick her head out, relief spearing through her when she found Dean alive and battling the two remaining angels.

He sliced through the jugular of one of them before being pushed up against the wall by the other, their blades clashing, the angel forcing Dean's blade closer and closer to his neck.

Chloe didn't even think, rushing out of the room and grabbing the fallen angel's blade, spearing the one threatening Dean's through the back.

The angel collapsed to the ground.

Dean looked up at her, face stricken and pale, betraying so much emotional agony. "_Sammy..."_

Dropping the bloody blade, Chloe raced into his embrace, holding him tightly. "_Lois too_."

Dean held onto her tightly, burying his face in her hair.

"_Awwww_." Michael's voice was like a cold bucket of water.

Chloe gazed up in time to see Michael letting Clark's body fall to the ground on top of Lois'.

Dean turned toward Michael, thrusting Chloe behind him as he raised his angel blade high.

Michael chuckled. "You're no match for me, even with that little toothpick." He held his hands up. "Look Mom, No Weapon." And with that he moved fast as lightning, grabbing Dean's arm and twisting it around, stabbing Dean with his own sword.

"_No_!" Chloe screamed, catching Dean's body as it collapsed, being pulled down to the ground with him as he went. "_Dean_!"

Light hazels stared up at her, begging for forgiveness as he coughed up blood.

"_No_." Chloe cried, staring down into his face. "_No_!"

Michael grabbed her arm and threw her into the wall, pinning her there with his body, his hands on either side of her head.

Dean's eyes flashed. "LEAVE HER ALONE!"

Chloe's tear-filled gaze remained on Dean as she sobbed, watching him trying to move, trying to save her, and yet unable to anything but lay in a pool of his own blood.

Michael reached down and captured a tear of hers, bringing it to his lips as he tasted it. He leaned into her, whispering in her ear as if to a co-conspirator. "Because I am a gracious king, I will let you live long enough to say goodbye to your lover."

"Michael?" Chloe's gaze never left Dean's agonized hazels.

"Yes?" He pulled away enough to stare into her eyes.

Chloe's gaze finally slid from Dean's to the Archangel's. "_Go to hell_." And with that she unsheathed his Archangel blade and stabbed it to the hilt into his heart.

The Archangel's eyes widened in confused shock as he backed away, pulling himself free from the blade, staring down at the gushing wound in his chest before his gaze went to her. Explosions rocked his body before he fell to the ground.

Letting out a loud sob, Chloe collapsed at Dean's side, dropping the Archangel blade as she reached for the blade deep within her beloved's chest, yanking it out as she threw it far away.

"I couldn't save you again…" Dean whispered, each word with a spurt of blood.

"Don't leave me." She sobbed, trying to keep pressure on the wound in his chest, yet blood gushed out despite her best efforts.

He reached up a weak hand, cupping her face. "I love you."

"I love you too." Chloe cried, her tears falling down into his face. "I always have."

He gave her a pained smile. "I always knew I'd die...I just never thought I'd be able to do so in your arms. I'm...lucky..."

"Don't say that." Her body shook with her sobs. "You can't die. You can't leave me. You haven't even told me how we get married!" She tried for a teary smile. "I hear it's quite the story."

Dean chuckled and then groaned at the pain it caused him.

"Don't…" Chloe begged. "You're too weak."

Dean slowly removed his ring and placed it in her palm, closing her fingers over it.

Chloe shook her head, unable to speak anymore as she cried.

"I love you." Dean whispered.

"_I love you_." Chloe sobbed brokenly, pressing her lips to his, their kiss metallic.

When she pulled back up, his eyes were blank.

"_No_…" Chloe's whole body shook with despair as she lowered her head, unable to bear her inner agony. "_Dean_!"

"I'm sorry for the pain I've put you through, but it was important you live through this instead of merely being told."

Chloe grabbed Michael's Archangel blade, turning it towards the voice, eyes widening as her gaze fell upon the man who'd stood in the middle of the road, who'd been at fault for the accident-for her coming here-for _everything_. "_You_."

"You needed to see a world in which one side won." He announced, apparently genuinely saddened. "If either side wins, the world is doomed. I've visited too many realities, seen all possible futures, and if either Heaven or Hell wins the battle, humanity is _doomed_."

Chloe kept the Archangel blade pointed at him. "Bring him back."

Those saddened eyes went to the dead man and then back on her. "He is not your Dean…merely a version of him."

"I don't care!" Chloe cried, hardly managing from falling apart. "Bring him back!"

The man sighed. "I am truly sorry." And with that he moved quicker than she could blink, and pressed his hand to her forehead.

Everything went black.

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**TBC**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Supernatural**

Sequel to: Realizations

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The first thing she saw as the darkness bled away from her vision, and her sight returned, was Dean. He was sleeping on a chair next to the bed, the front part of his body leaning on the bed itself, his head resting on his crossed arms. He looked tired and pale, as if this was the first real rest he'd had in days. He was thinner too, and his face was haggard.

But that faint silver line wasn't visible down the side of his face.

Disappointed and relief mixed bitterly in her stomach as she realized that she was back in her time, in her rightful place and reality. And yet while she'd always known she'd return, the realization was bittersweet in her mouth. Flashes of that other universe, of her friends being slaughtered all around her without her being able to do anything, they tormented her.

Her green gaze went to Dean's sleeping face, tears filling her eyes as she remembered the other Dean, the one she'd actually had a chance with. In that universe he'd loved her more than his own life, and now that she'd had a taste of that she didn't know how she was going to adjust to the realities of her world…of her true relationship with Dean.

A silent tear trickled down her pale cheek as her mind flashed to his dying moments, to the blood, to the knowledge that she was losing the man she loved.

A sob escaped her lips.

"I _am_ sorry."

She looked up, eyes widening as she saw him again. "Take me back!"

In her desperation she didn't notice Dean jerk awake at the sound of her voice.

The man at the foot of her bed shook his head. "I cannot."

"Bullshit!" Chloe snapped, throwing the sheets off of her as she pressed up on her knees. "You sent me there in the first place! You can send me back!"

"Chloe?" Dean frowned, looking around the room. "Who are you talking to?"

She ignored him, staring into those solemn eyes. "_Please_." She begged. "Please you_ have_ to send me back! I can do something! Anything!"

"That reality has already come to pass, as have the millions of others that exist alongside it." The man declared. "There is nothing you can do to change what has happened. It was never in your power to change it."

"Then _why_ did you send me there? To _him_?" She cried, body trembling. "Why would you go to all that trouble for _nothing_?"

"What's going on?" Dean had his gun out, looking blindly around the room. "Chloe, _speak_ to me."

"You needed to see what I see." The man declared, his gaze never leaving hers. "With my gift I am able to see all possible futures and their outcomes, and I have shown you just _one_ of the many I am plagued with at every second of my life." He took a step closer. "For far too long I have tried keeping the prophecy from fulfilling, and yet with each dead Asset, another will be born and I cannot continue murdering innocents just to prolong what you've seen from happening."

Chloe's eyes widening. "You're the reason I've been attacked since I was a kid…" She gulped. "_You're_ the one who keeps sending people to kill me!"

"_What_?" Dean snapped. "Damn it, Chloe! Talk to me!"

"You are the strongest of all the Assets I've encountered, you have a strength of will that I have yet to come across. I have tried over and over to end you before the Sword and Blade could come of age and start the chain of events which end the world, just as I've kept it from happening since the birth of the first Asset, but no matter what I've done you've survived it all. You refuse to die…and I've come to terms with the fact that it is now out of my hands. The time for killing you has passed, both the Sword and Blade are of age." The man stepped forwards. "What you do not understand is that you are the _last_ Asset, the last _chance_ they have, and since I cannot kill you, I must enlist your help."

"Who are you?" Chloe whispered. "Michael said that the only one with the power to do what you did is dead in all the worlds and possibilities."

"Michael chooses to believe he knows everything, but there is only One who is truly Omniscient, and He is our Father."

Chloe's eyes widened. "You're an _angel_."

Dean's eyes widened. "_Huh_?"

"I am Raguel, Angel of God." He declared, raising his chin proudly. "I oversee the conduct and appearance of every other angel and report solely to our Father. Even _Michael_ is below me."

"Then why can't you stop him?" Chloe asked softly. "You _know_ what he will do! You've seen every single possibility, every single outcome-so why can't you _stop_ them from happening? You're basically Heaven's Enforcer!"

"I cannot stop what is out of my hands. These plans were set in motion by a Power greater than my own and I cannot do more than I already have without going directly against Divine Will." He tilted his head. "But _you_ can."

"I can't even face _my_ father." She exclaimed. "What makes you think I can outsmart _yours_?"

"Because you have something that I do not have, a great advantage humanity has over angels and demons alike." Raguel replied. "It's the same reason why, no matter what they do, your family will never achieve their goals in you."

"And what would that be?" Chloe wanted to know, unable to believe that a High Up angel thought she had something he didn't.

Raguel stared at her in silence before uttering two words. "Free Will."

The girl paused, staring at him, shocked.

The angel moved to the side of the bed opposite Dean's, his gaze on her. "Since you will not _die_, no matter _what_ I send after you, and as I am unable to touch you myself…you must find a way to avert the prophecy hanging over your head. If the prophecy doesn't come to pass in your lifetime, it will _never_ plague another woman's life and the world will _not_ become the ruined and destroyed hell you witnessed."

"Why doesn't _He_ do something?" She asked, back turned to Dean, staring into the tall angel's face. "Obviously this is all _His_ fault. So why doesn't He get off His lofty ass and do something to fix this mess?"

The angel flinched at her disrespect, yet cleared his throat and didn't scold her. "He has left heaven for a time of…reflection and meditation…and has refused any contact we request."

"How long has He been on this little trip?" Chloe narrowed his eyes.

"Approximately six or seven hundred years." Raguel mumbled.

Chloe's eyes widened. "Jesus."

"You're talking to _Jesus_?" Dean's eyes widened. "What the-he _exists_?"

"How do I know it wasn't a dream and you're not manipulating me?" Chloe asked the angel.

His gaze went to her bag.

Narrowing her eyes on him, Chloe jumped out of bed and hurried to her bag, opening it, eyes widening as she caught a glimpse of the Archangel blade inside. But that wasn't what she pulled out. No. It was the chain with the two wedding bands that she removed, tears forming in her eyes as she stared at them.

Dean narrowed his eyes on the wedding bands.

The angel watched her silently.

Chloe stared up at Raguel, flashes of Dean dying haunting her. "Bring him back."

Dean's narrowed gaze went from the wedding bands to her.

"I cannot."

"Bring him back!" She screamed, yanking out the Archangel blade and storming towards the angel menacingly.

He merely stared down at her.

Dean's eyes widened. "The hell-?"

"I _love _him." The girl whispered to Raguel what she knew the angel already knew. "Bring him back and I'll do _anything_ you ask."

Dean went still.

"I can't bring back what isn't lost." The angel stared down at her, narrowing his eyes in slight confusion.

"Don't start with your vague, riddle bullshit!" Chloe snapped at him. "I swear I'll do what you want! What more do you need?"

"I am not…haggling." The angel tilted his head, his gaze going to Dean. "How can you ask me to bring him if he's here already?"

Chloe lowered her gaze. "I want my _husband _back."

The gun slipped from Dean's fingers and fell loudly to the floor.

"I do not understand why you keep asking for him…when he's here…even if in a different form." Raguel frowned in confusion.

"It's different." She whispered, knowing that there was no way this Dean would ever feel for her the way the other reality's one had, not with the way he hadn't been able to even look at her after one innocent kiss. This Dean would never be hers, and it broke her heart. It was _her_ who was now unable to look at _him_. The feeling of loss was too great, too agonizingly real.

The angel eyed her oddly. "I will never understand humans and their emotions. They make no sense."

The Archangel blade slipped from Chloe's hands as she collapsed to her knees, tears falling down her cheek. "_Please_."

The angel sighed as he bent to his knees, staring into her face. "You want your husband returned to you?"

She nodded, desperate.

"Then do what I instructed you." His gaze went to Dean before returning to her Archangel blade. "You will need that."

Chloe's gaze lowered to the weapon, reaching out and clasping it.

"Time is ticking, Little Asset." Raguel whispered, reaching out and clasping his hand around hers over the blade, heat searing her flesh and entering the Archangel blade, Chloe for the first time sensing it as something more than just cold steel.

The blonde stared at the angel in confusion.

Raguel raised his other hand and cupped her swollen, bruised cheek, healing it with a surge of warmth, before releasing his hold on her and disappearing.

Chloe stared ahead of her before lowering her head and crying.

Dean just stood there watching, frozen, his hands clasped at his sides.

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"I still can't believe that all this time she's been missing-she was in an alternate _universe._" Bobby announced, pulling off his trucker hat as he scratched his head, at a loss.

"She said it was one of our possible futures, the one in which heaven won." Dean muttered, staring out of the window, a hard look on his face. "Apparently this Raguel guy said that if either heaven or hell won it would be bad news for humanity, but he showed her the angel one so that she wouldn't think he was being biased and showing demons as the bad guys."

Sam sat in his bed, researching the angel Raguel. "From what I am finding here, this Raguel is a really big deal."

"Can we just forget the angel and apocalyptic part of this whole story and focus on something more disturbing for a moment?" Bobby frowned, staring between them. "That kid was _married_ in this alternate universe to one of the rebellion's leaders who _died in her arms_." Fatherly worry shone through his eyes. "Not only am I worried about the mental trauma the _already_ unstable girl had to go through seeing everyone she loved die like that-but she was in that alternate timeline for _days_. Exactly what did that husband of hers expect of her?"

"He was _not_ her husband." Dean snapped, gaze remaining out of the window. "Whoever he was, the guy was married to the version of her from _that_ reality. Not to _her_. The asshole took _advantage_ of Chloe and used her as a substitute."

Sam's gaze went to his brother, noticing the tension and anger simmering under his skin, the stark _resentment_ that seemed to emanate from his very pores.

The guy was jealous…and Sam didn't blame him.

Dean was emotionally _slow_, obviously still coming to terms with his strong feelings for Chloe, only for her to suddenly become married and obviously develop _strong_ feelings for someone else…it must be _hell_.

Sam was also worried that this might just send Dean back into his emotionally-dulled previous existence.

Dean had never done too well with rejection, and tended to fortify his wall to protect himself emotionally.

The hunter had been lowering that wall with Chloe, and Sam was terrified that all the progress his brother had made wasn't only going to be in vain, but that Dean would take a hundred steps backwards.

"I can't believe Heaven and Hell would place such a heavy bet on the life of one girl." Bobby hissed, shaking his head. "Her death would start the end of the world, one way or the other."

"They can _both_ go fuck themselves." Dean hissed, turning his back on the window and staring ahead of him, lips a grim line. "I'm also sick of them thinking they can just pull her in one direction or the other. That they think they can just _take her_ and _brainwash_ her into thinking she has some ties to some _damned stranger_ whose death sends her into some sort of suicidal mission-!"

There was a knock on the door.

Sam straightened, turning his gaze to the door. "Come in."

The knob turned and Chloe slipped in, looking pale and having obviously lost some weight during her time in the parallel reality. "Hey."

Dean straightened immediately. "Hey."

She gave him a weak smile, now seeming to be the one unable to look at him, her gaze going to Bobby. "I'm going to go over to the diner across the road and get something. You guys want anything?"

"No thanks." Bobby shook his head.

"Me neither." Sam shook his head.

"I'm not hungry, but you shouldn't be alone." Dean cleared his throat. "I'll go with you."

"_No!_" Chloe's eyes widened, realizing how she sounded, clearing her throat as she turned her back on him. "I'm fine. Viktor won't do anything out in the open." She reached down into her knee-high combat boot and pulled out the weapon she'd informed them was an Archangel blade. "And if he does, I'll persuade him to leave me alone." She wouldn't look directly at Dean, giving a weak smile in his general direction before turning and hurrying out of the room.

Bobby cleared his throat, gaze going from the door to the hunter.

Dean stared at the door, hurt, frustration and anger welling behind his light hazel eyes as he clenched his hand into a fist and slammed it sideways into the wall.

Sam sighed, watching his brother, realizing how hard it was for the guy to have Chloe avoid him like this, withdraw from him.

Before she'd been taken by this angel, Chloe had been on the verge of smothering and _clingy_ when it came to Dean, and yet now she'd done a whole 180, unable to look at him, talk to him, be in the same room with him.

She was acting almost identical to the way Dean had been with _her_ before the incident, but Sam knew the reason for her avoidance was different from what Dean's had.

The youngest hunter shook his head, thinking back to the days of her disappearance, to Dean's near _frightening_ fixation in finding her. He'd seemed to change from the person Sam knew him to be into…well…someone kinda scary.

And then one day they'd headed towards the Impala from the motel they'd forced him to sleep in, and they'd found the blonde dirty and covered in blood, face swollen and bruised, the girl sleeping in the back seat of the Impala.

She was back…but from the moment she'd awoken she wasn't the same girl they'd known.

She was quiet, withdrawn, and couldn't be close to Dean without looking like she wanted to cry.

And Dean wasn't dealing well with her change.

It proved to Sam just how much his brother needed this girl.

He was slowly falling apart, unravelling at the seams.

Sam was kinda relieved that Chloe's husband from the other universe hadn't made it, because had he crossed over with her Sam didn't know how Dean would have been able to handle it, especially since it seemed that during those days on the other side Chloe had fallen in love with him.

It made the youngest man wonder exactly what sort of man this husband of hers had been, to steal her affections from Dean so quickly.

"She just needs some time to readjust." Bobby cleared his throat. "Give her some space."

"Space?" Dean laughed darkly. "Bobby, if I give her any more space…" he shook his head, running his hand over his face before letting out a deep breath. "I'm losing her."

"She's grieving." Bobby would be able to understand the girl better than either of them, having lost his wife. "Her husband-."

"He wasn't her husband goddamn it!" Dean snapped. "Everyone needs to stop calling him that!"

"Dean…" Sam tried.

"No, Sammy, stop." Dean shook his head. "I know you and Bobby are trying to help, but just _stop_." He headed towards the door.

"Dean…" Bobby tried.

The young hunter opened the door, walked through, and slammed it shut behind him.

Bobby sighed, sharing a look with Sam.

Sam shrugged, not knowing if a confrontation between the two of them was a good thing or not.

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**TBC**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Supernatural**

Sequel to: Realizations

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_"I love you…" Dean whispered, sputtering blood, gasping his last breaths_.

Chloe closed her eyes tightly, bringing her hands to her face as she let out a shuddering breath.

Already she could tell that her nights would be worse than they'd been before. Now she had the image of Lois, Clark and Dean dying horrible, bloody deaths. And she had Adam Milligan's face sneering tauntingly etched into her mind. She felt nauseas, disgusted, furious, _hopeless_.

She couldn't look at Dean, couldn't even hear his voice without his death flashing before her eyes.

She was about to go crazy.

Who said this world depended on her?

What if she just saved everyone the trouble and used the Arachangel blade on herself?

But even as she thought it she dismissed the idea, shaking her head.

Suicide wasn't her style.

"Hello."

Eyes widening, Chloe yanked her hands from her face, staring into Viktor Dalakis' face.

"Don't look so surprised to see me." Her biological father declared with mild amusement. "I _told_ you I'd find you."

Her gaze went to the people around her in the well lit diner before returning those greens to him. "I'm not leaving with you."

Viktor reached out and grabbed her arms, and in the blink of an eye they weren't in the diner anymore, instead in the dark alleyway behind it.

Chloe staggered forwards, catching herself on the wall, turning quickly to face him, refusing to give him her back. "_No_."

Viktor shook his head, apparently somewhat disoriented as he eyed her curiously. "Wasn't expecting that."

"You aren't taking me _anywhere_." Chloe hissed, leaning hard against the wall, fighting the disorientation she _too_ felt.

"You will join the embrace of your blood." Viktor repeated the same phrase he had before like some sort of broken record. "Your insistence to stay at the unblood's side is _embarrassing_."

"Then _disown_ me." She replied.

He chuckled, shaking his head. "That's not an option. You're my heir, and you _will_ join our side, _my_ side." He reached out and grabbed her arm.

Chloe could feel his magic jolting through her to pit of her stomach, and she fought it viciously, refusing to let yet another person take her away against her will.

Instead of teleporting away they were both thrown against the opposite wall, the blow causing the two to separate, both disoriented with the blow and the frustrated magic.

Viktor coughed, bent over, eyeing her in both shock and wonder. "You're _resisting_ me."

"Why is that such a surprise?" She hissed, bent over as well, gasping for breath, head hurting.

"You're _untrained_ and yet…" His eyes widened, his voice awed. "You truly _are_ a Dalakis…your strength of will is…_fascinating_."

Chloe straightened, breathing in and out. "I'm not going anywhere. If you don't want to continue this annoying and painful little dance, you'll accept that and leave me the _hell_ alone."

He straightened as well, eyeing her. "What has happened during tonight and the last time I saw you?" His eyes narrowed. "You're not as scared as you were back then." He narrowed his eyes, tilting her head to the side as he observed her. "You're stronger."

"You're wrong." She whispered. "I'm not stronger." She took a step towards him. "I'm more afraid than I was the last time I saw you. But I'm _pissed_ as well." She went to stand right in front of him, staring deep into his eyes. "There's something I _need_ to do, and I can't concentrate on doing it if you keep bothering me." She raised her chin. "So leave me alone."

Fascination colored his every feature as he reached out, trailing the back of his hand down the side of her face and neck slowly. "You look _so much_ like Madelyn."

She fought the shudder of disgust that ran down her spine at the touch.

"If you truly want to save your friends, you will come to me." He replied. "I know of a way to make you unfit to be Asset."

"How?" She whispered, hating having to ask him anything.

His fingers traced the rapid pulse in her neck. "Come with me." His gaze spanned her face slowly. "Or do you _want_ the unblood to die?"

Her eyes narrowed as his fingertips trailed up to grab her chin. "_No_."

His hand went to her throat, and once again the power erupted between them, but like before the two of them were thrown against the alley wall instead of teleporting away, the act of forcefully moving their bodies being halted and the reaction to fumbled magic violent.

Viktor laughed, wiping at the blood from his lip from where he'd bitten it during this latest failed attempt. "_Magnificent_."

Chloe stared at him, realizing just how unhinged the guy was, how much he was _enjoying_ this.

He raised his hand, stepping back. "When the unblood is drowning in his unclean red, you'll seek me." And with that he disappeared in the blinking of an eye.

Chloe let out a violent shudder, her voice escaping her parted lips in a groan as she turned and leaned against the wall, sliding down to the ground.

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"Should we really leave them alone?" Sam wanted to know, putting his laptop to the side as he stared at the door that Dean had slammed shut a while ago.

"It's not our business to interfere in their affairs." Bobby muttered gruffly. "The boy's been through hell since that girl's disappearance, and now that she's back…I don't blame him for how he's feeling. The idgit was avoiding her and keeping her at an arms length and now he might have just lost her. And for better or worse, despite their age difference, that boy's head over heels for that girl."

It surprised Sam to hear Bobby open enough to speak of emotions like this.

Bobby cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. "Why don't you call your _own_ girl and leave Dean to clean up his own mess and salvage their relationship while he can?"

Scolded, Sam nodded, obeying.

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"**_Chloe_**!?"

Gaze jerking upwards at the sound of her name being yelled with near terror, Chloe removed her hands from her face and wiped desperately at the tears wetting her cheeks. "Here! I'm here!"

"Get out the damned way!" Dean's voice snapped at someone before the hunter turned the corner and stopped at the entrance of the darkened alleyway, staring down into the dimly lit place at her, eyes narrowed. "The hell are you doing?"

"Sitting." She replied, letting out a little breath as her gaze slid away, unable to look at him.

Dean's gaze narrowed on her as he stepped into the alley, walking towards her. "There are better places. If Viktor-."

"I can't _swear_ on anything, but I can say with _almost_ certainty that Daddy Dearest won't be bothering me…at least for the time being." She rested her elbows on her bents knees, staring ahead of her at the dirty floor.

There was silence, and then Dean moved to bend on his knees in front of her, tense. "What happened?"

Chloe tried raising her gaze to his eyes, but the second her greens skimmed the edges of his face images of him being impaled by Michael flashed before her orbs as she looked away, closing her eyes tightly. "We both realized that if I don't want to go with him, he can't make me." She gave a dark little laugh. "Like, _literally_, can't."

Dean clenched his hands into fists. "You shouldn't have come by yourself."

"I'm fine." She continued talking to that spot a little left of him. "And for now Viktor isn't a problem anymore. If I hadn't have come alone we wouldn't know that."

"He could have taken you." Dean spoke evenly, calmly.

"He didn't." Chloe shrugged, gaze firmly on a discarded beer can. "He can't."

"He could have." Dean continued speaking evenly.

"Well, guess we finally got a lucky break." She eased to her feet, gaze going to a spot over his right shoulderl. "I'm hungry." Hugging herself, she turned and made a step to return to the diner. "I'm going back."

Suddenly, without a sound or warning, Dean was standing and grabbed her shoulder, twirling her around and flinging her backwards into the wall.

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"You've returned without her." Hannah Dalakis raised an eyebrow as she stared at her son, intrigued. "Why?"

Viktor threw himself onto a chair, smirking, turning his gaze towards his mother. "She truly _is_ my daughter."

Hannah raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

Viktor's only answer was to raise his hand, palm towards her, to reveal the burnt skin from where he'd touched the blonde.

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"What are you _doing_?" Chloe struggled against the wall, fighting Dean, closing her eyes.

"Look at me." Dean kept her pinned by her shoulders. "_Look_ at me!"

The blonde shook her head.

"_Look at me goddamn it_!" Dean snapped. "Just _look_ at me!"

She couldn't.

Every time she did she saw him dying.

She _couldn't_!

"_LOOK AT ME_!" Dean's voice broke as his grip on her shoulders tightened. "_Why won't you look at me_?"

Chloe kept her eyes closed tighter. "I'm sorry…I just need…I just need some space right now." She could _feel_ his gaze on her, even with her eyes closed. "I'm sorry if I'm hurting you because that is the last thing I would ever want to do but I can't be around you right now because-."

"You weren't really married to him you know." Dean's voice was low, almost emotionless.

Chloe's eyes flew open, without even realizing it she was staring up into his face. "What?"

"That _guy_. Whoever the hell he was." Dean's grip tightened almost painfully on her, his smile ugly as he stared down at her, light hazels flashing with an emotion she couldn't quite recognize. "_You_ weren't married to him. The _other_ you was. _You_ were _nothing_ to him."

"That's a lie." She whispered, not understanding the feeling that Dean was trying to hurt her somehow. "He loved me."

That emotion darkened in Dean's eyes as he gave her a little shake. "Don't be _naive_, Chloe. You were only a replacement for him."

"He _loved_ me." Chloe's voice broke, tears beginning to prickle her eyes as she stared up at him. "You have _no_ idea what you're talking about!"

He sneered at her, shaking his head. "He _used_ you."

"Shut up!" Chloe brought her hands to her ears, unwilling to hear such shockingly cruel words from him of all people. "Shut up shut up shut-!"

"_No_!" Dean snapped, yanking her hands from her ears. "You need to stop being such a little girl! You're not a kid! Stop being so damn naive!"

"Just because _you_ don't understand what it is like to be passionately in love with someone doesn't mean that everyone else don't as well!" She snapped right back at him, all of her turbulent feelings rushing forth as she slammed her fist into his chest. "You might not see me as anything other than a little sister, but it is _possible_ for someone else to be in love with me!"

Dean sneered, something ugly passing over his features. "He wasn't passionately in love with you."

"He _died_ for me." She hissed. "It doesn't get more real than _that_."

"Do I know him?" Dean suddenly changed tactics, though his features were still hard as ice.

"_Excuse me?_" Chloe's eyes widened.

"It's an easy question to answer." Dean replied all too calmly, leaning into her space as his light hazels scanned her face. "On this side, in _our_ universe, do I know this guy?"

The blonde gulped, not sure how to proceed with this without coming out and telling him it was _him_. If he'd freaked out about the kiss they'd shared and had avoided her so horribly, she knew that knowing they'd been _married_ would probably send him into a catatonic shock or completely destroy their relationship. "Yes."

"How long have you known him in this universe?" Dean wanted to know.

"A while now." She gulped, flashes of the moment she'd met Dean racing before her eyes, the girl terrified at the thought of letting something incriminating slip.

Dean's sneer began to show once more. "You trust him in this reality?"

Those flashes went to every single time Dean had not only risked his own life for hers, but had been there when she'd needed him emotionally, when she'd had no one else. "_With my life_."

That darkness returned tenfold to those hazels as he hissed. "That damn criminal."

"Wait, _what_?" She asked in confusion, shaking her head and yanking her mind from the images of Dean, feeling as if she'd just missed something important.

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Lois hadn't stopped to get her things from the motel once she'd recuperated her memories.

Her first thought had been flight, and she'd taken it, hurrying back to Smallville only to find someone else living in the home that she'd once shared with her cousin. Confusion and worry had filled her until she'd run into Clark and his girlfriend, who'd informed him that Chloe and Dean had left Smallville, the blonde saying that she had to do something yet not clarifying _what_ exactly. She hadn't said where she was going or why, but it'd seemed important, and her phone wasn't working anymore.

That'd left Lois with no idea of what to do, so she'd done the only thing she had left.

She'd called Caleb and weaseled John Winchester's number out of him.

The brunette didn't like Dean's father, but he was the only person she could think of whom Dean might keep in contact with, and while he'd been very wary about giving her his information, John had told her to come and see him in the town he was hunting in. That was why she was now on a Greyhound on the way towards some little town in the asscrack of nowhere. She didn't have good luck with those sorts of places, and was hoping that John Winchester didn't get her into more trouble.

Sighing, Lois stared out of the window at the darkened scenery as the bus continued to drive.

Wherever she as, at least she knew that Chloe was safe…she was with Dean, and the brunette knew that he wouldn't let anything happen to the blonde.

Lois rested her forehead against the bus' window, staring out into the darkness, unable to believe that Dean had come back and stayed with Chloe during the months Lois had been brainwashed into believing she was someone else.

The brunette smiled softly, thanking all the lucky stars for having met Dean Winchester, and for his becoming the big brother Chloe had always needed.

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Dean let go of his hold on Chloe's shoulders and rested his palms on the wall behind her on each side of her head, his hazels staring deeply into her greens. "You just _disappeared_."

The blonde stared up at him in growing confusion.

"I was talking to Bobby up front and then behind us we heard this horrifying sound and I gazed into the rear-view mirror in time to see the car you and Sammy were in flip through the fucking air before landing upside down and nearly get run into by the car that'd been driving behind you." Dean stared deep into her eyes, the intensity in his gaze keeping her from being able to look away. "I slammed the breaks, got out of 'Pala, and rushed to where you guys were, but _you weren't there_."

Chloe gulped.

"Sam was fine, a little disoriented but fine...but you were _gone_." Dean's voice was a growl. "You'd just _disappeared_."

Chloe pressed harder into the wall, staring up at him, near transfixed.

"I don't think you realize just how much that _fucked me up_." Dean hissed, his body tense, remdining her oddly of a cobra ready to strike out. "You were gone for days. _Days_. Can you even _begin_ to understand what sort of scenerios ran through my mind every single waking moment? I couldn't sleep! I couldn't eat! I couldn't sit down for two seconds!" He slammed his palms into the walls on either side of her head. "All Sam could remember was a man in the middle of the road and then you were gone. I spent the whole time wondering who or what that man was and what he did to you. Were you alive? Were you dead? Had Viktor stolen you? How could I get you back if he had?" He leaned in closer, lips parting enough to show a flash of clenched teeth. "I missed you so _damned_ much."

Chloe's eyes widened as she gulped louder. "You did?"

He chuckled darkly. "Why so surprised?"

Her greens slid away. "before I was, uh, taken...things had gotten really awkward between you and me." She gave a little shrug. "I figured you might be a little relieved not to have to deal with me for a little while at least."

He let out a sound that could only be a snarl as he slammed his fists against the wall once more, ferocious. "_Damn it_ Chloe! Not _everyone_ is going to abandon you!" He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath before opening those light hazels, seeming very close to losing his battle with his intense emotions. "That's why, isn't it? You thought I was pulling away from you and _that_ _douchebag_ took advantage."

"What?" The blonde was utterly confused. "What douchebag?"

"That...that _man_." Dean spat out hatefully. "You let yourself care for him, for everyone on that side, because _that_ Lois didn't just up and abandon you, and you thought that I didn't care and-." He then froze, silent, eyes narrowing on her. "Was _I_ there?"

Chloe pressed harder against the wall, hysteria building.

"You've only vaguely mentioned that people from this universe that you knew were there, you really haven't gone into detail about anything or anyone." Dean's eyes narrowed. "The only ones you've really mentioned by name are Sam, Lois, and this ex angel guy Cas." The hunter tilted his head to the side. "Was _I_ there?"

The blonde pushed back the wave of nausea as she nodded.

For some reason Dean's features fell at that. "And what did I think of him?" He smiled, the sight ugly and twisted. "Were he and I _best buds_?"

Chloe licked her lips, unsure of how to proceed.

"We weren't, were we?" He chuckled darkly, shaking his head. "Doesn't surprise me." He sneered. "I probably hated the guy. I _did, _didn't I?"

She pressed her hands against the wall on either side of her, palms against the cool bricks. "What are you-?"

Dean stared down on her, an emotion similar to desperation crossing his features. "What were you and I in that reality?"

Chloe's breath hitched, remembering a far too similar question by the other Dean, her voice barely audible. "_I don't understand the question_."

"I promised myself I'd wait a bit longer until you were older." Dean whispered, gaze dark. "But apparently that's what screws me over, isn't it? Waiting? Holding back? Tying to be the better man?" He shook his head in disgust. "While I'm playing a part I'm not good at, he plays one he's _perfected_ and it's all over."

"What are you _talking_ about?" Chloe whispered, so confused.

"I'm done trying to be the good guy. I've never _been_ the good guy. I'm not good at it and it's only going to screw me over. I'm sending the wrong message across." Dean was talking utter gibberish as far as she was concerned. "Sam's the good guy. I'm the rogue. I'm done pretending to be otherwise."

The blonde cleared her throat, trying to push away her confusion and give him a little smile. "I'm _so_ confused right now you have _no_ idea."

That seemed to anger him, his gaze hard, determined. "That night when you kissed me-."

"Don't." Chloe turned her gaze away from him immediately, clearing her throat. "I already told you not to worry about it, I'm never going to do anything like that ever again so you don't have to-."

Dean's hands slid down from the wall to her shoulders. "I shouldn't have reacted the way I did to that kiss."

"Why are you bringing this up?" Confusion and misery were welling in the girl who was once more unable to look at him. "I'm _never_ going to kiss you again! I promised that already! So just forget about it and let's move on!"

"No."

Her eyes widened and jerked to his face in confusion. "What?"

"I'm not going to forget about it." He tightened his grip on her shoulders. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since you did it."

The blonde gulped.

"You're sixteen." Dean's voice dropped along with his gaze, to her parted lips. "But I don't care anymore."

"What does my age have to do with anything?" Chloe's eyebrows nearly touched in a frown, refusing to let her hope rise due to the familiarity of this conversation.

"Nothing." Dean replied. "Not anymore."

The blonde stared up at him in confused silence.

"That night you kissed me, I shouldn't have reacted the way I did." Dean repeated, his hands trailing from her shoulders to cup her face. "I should have just gone with my instincts."

Chloe's heart was racing so hard in her chest it _hurt_ as she stared up at him. "Your instincts?"

Dean's thumb caressed her cheek before he leaned in the rest of the way, bringing his lips to hers, his mouth moving against hers and swallowing her gasp of surprise.

Chloe's body froze in shock, her mind blanking as her hands found their way from the wall to his shirt, grabbing hold of him to keep herself from falling. Her legs seemed to have lost their strength, her ears were ringing, and it took her a moment to realize that her eyes were closed and her lips moving just as desperately against his.

Dean pinned her against the wall with his body, his kiss a mixture of harshness and desperation, his fingers going to thread through her hair, clenching in her locks, holding her in place. His lips tore away from hers long enough for him to whisper against her mouth. "He can't have you."

_Who_?

Chloe's blank mind couldn't even begin to work enough for her to figure out what he was saying.

"You're _mine_." Dean promised her. "Not _his_."

He moved in to kiss her again, but Chloe pushed him away slightly with her hands against his chest.

The blonde stared up at him in shock as suddenly she realized who he was talking about..._himself_.

Chloe cleared her throat. "Dean, there's something you need to know." She licked her lips. "The person I was married to on the other side-."

"It doesn't matter. _You_ weren't married to him. _She_ was. _She_ was his." Dean's eyes were narrowed. "But _you_ are _mine_."

Chloe's eyes widened and a blush began to creep up her neck, unable to believe that she was hearing this from _her_ Dean.

"You might have fallen in love with him during your time there, but I'm not letting you go." Dean promised her darkly. "He can't have you."

"_Dean_..." Chloe stared up into his face. "You don't _understand_."

But Dean didn't want to hear it, the hunter gathering her in his arms and kissing her again, pressing her into the wall with his body once more.

And Chloe, she was weak, losing all will to do anything but open her mouth to his kiss and pull him closer.

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"So, you're back." Luther eyed the angel. "I knew you had to be behind her disappearance." He raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess, you realized that what I've been telling you all these years is true." He smirked, smug. "This one's _special_."

Raguel leaned against the wall. "What makes her so different from the other versions of her in each reality? They have the same DNA, the same blood, the same destiny. So why is _she_ different?"

"Don't know. She just is." Luther replied, eyeing the angel with interest. "So, what now?"

The angel took in a deep breath. "Now, we watch and see what she does."

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**And thus ends "Through The Looking Glass".**


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